Code: Cameron
by Undeadmonkey8
Summary: Cameron is a normal boy, with normal hobbies. Building robots, playing music, playing video games, and spending time alone with his thoughts. He also just happens to be the adoptive son of Franz Hopper, after his parents died when he was three. After Franz vanished, he moved on through two more families before coming to Kadic. What will he find there? Only time will tell.
1. Code: Cameron

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of code Lyoko or anything else to do with any series I may write about.**

Chapter One

Code: Cameron

_Two months prior to the events of __Xana Awakens__ . . ._

Jeremie turned away from his computer to the sound of Jim's fist trying to break the door down. Upon opening it, Jeremie found Jim standing with a boy about his age and a full suitcase, dressed in jeans, a subsonics t-shirt, and a pair of black cowboy boots.

"What's going on Jim? Is this a new kid who I'm going to be showing around?" Jeremie questioned.

"Well, yes and no Jeremie. See, Cameron here is in fact, a new student here at Kadic, but instead of just showing him around, I'm afraid he's going to be bunking with you for a while. There are no empty dorms on the boy's floor at the moment, and I'm not sure how long it'll be until one opens up, so there may be some, err, remodeling for your room. Sorry." Jim replied.

"Oh, that's okay. Come on in. Your name is Cameron, did I get that right?" Jeremie asked.

"Umm, thanks. Sorry about this, but the Principal felt that you would probably be the best roommate for me, considering my school history. Nothing bad, I promise." Cameron said nervously.

"It's fine, really. But I must warn you, I might be up late working on some projects of mine. I usually do the annual robot fair, and they keep me up pretty late." Jeremie said.

"Really? There's actually a robot fair? Oh wow, that's awesome! This place is better than my old school already." Cameron cried. "I can't believe that I'll actually get to do something like that here. Oh man that's great! When are the sign ups?"

"Um, they were last week. Sorry dude."

Cameron practically fell over, "Last week! Oh man that is so unfair! Nothing ever works out for me!"

Jeremie raised an eyebrow at the last of that, but said nothing.

"Put that eyebrow down before I whack it off of your face."

Cameron turned back to Jeremie. "Okay, robot fair next year. I'll just go to that one. This is actually pretty good, since I've actually never built a robot before."

"I thought that you were excited about the fair?" Jeremie asked, confused.

"Oh I was, but only because my adoptive father had a bunch of little toy robots around the house before . . ." Cameron trailed off, distracted by a sudden onslaught of buried memories.

"Before what? What happened?" Jeremie urged him on.

"Nothing, really." Cameron let his eyes drift down and he half turned away. "anyway, where I was going before I got distracted was that my last roommate stayed up late all the time as well, so I got some earplugs and one of those sleeping mask things and I never missed a night's sleep."

Jeremie was not put off by the change of subject, but decided not to pursue the matter. If Cameron wanted to talk about his father or not, that was his choice, and Jeremie would respect it.

"Anyway, Jim will probably redo the room while we're out, so let's go." Jeremie suddenly said, surprising the other boy.

"Wait, out? Out where?" Cameron asked.

"Jim said I was supposed to show you around, so that's what I plan to do. It's probably better if we leave before Sissi gets here; she's the Principal's daughter, and really not nice. So she'll probably pick on you and give you a hard time for being stuck with me. But if we get out first, then there's a whole school to avoid her in."

"Well then let's go. I'm always ready for a tour of a new place."

()()()()

Two hours later, Jeremie and Cameron were climbing up the stairs to the rooms. As they passed Jim in the hall, both boys noticed a bag of power tools hanging over his shoulder and shared a quick, apprehensive glance.

Opening the door, they discovered that not only was Jim good with tools, but the room was neat, All of Jeremie's 'bots were stowed safely under his desk, and there was a pile of boxes on the right bed.

"Oh good, that's probably my stuff. I hope that Jim didn't break anything moving them." Cameron noted.

"What all's in there? Any tech?" Jeremie questioned, peering over Cameron's shoulder.

"A little bit. My computer's new, and pretty good. Decent battery life, but I only take notes on it if I can take them near an outlet."

"I thought you said decent battery life?"

"Well, most of the time. It lasts about two hours, but then I need to plug it in. I usually keep it on and open to a fresh document since teachers seem to not like waiting on one kid's laptop." Cameron replied.

"Oh, yeah, I see. Mrs. Hertz definitely wouldn't wait. She's our science teacher." Jeremie said. "Anything else?"

"Oh, mini TV, Xbox, GameCube, wireless headset, controllers, and a few games for each." Cameron said. "Apart from those, I also have an electronic keyboard that's still in pretty good shape. Plays like just about any piano you can name - plus a few other instruments - as well as taking disks."

"Cool. That must have been expensive."

"I actually have no idea, it was a birthday present from my, um, third dad."

"Third dad? how many have you had?" Jeremie exclaimed

"I'm only on my fourth. Number three had a temporary mental breakdown after his wife and daughter had a car wreck, his daughter is still in a coma from it, as far as I know. His wife, well, she didn't make it." Cameron said, his eyes again drifting away.

**End Chapter One**


	2. Xana Awakens

**Disclaimer: I own nothing of anything except for the plot of this story.**

Chapter Two

Xana Awakens

Cameron had settled in to his new classes quite well. There were no issues with other students – apart from Sissi but that was a given – and in fact had steadily made his way through dating about half of their grade, albeit his claim in week two to having no social life. He was right about his sleep though; all the drills and flashy lights in the world couldn't wake him once he put on his sleeping "gear". Jeremie had decided to try out a game on his GameCube – Super Smash Brothers Melee. The result had been Jeremie trying to beat Cameron at chess, which went better, but also longer.

"Checkmate Cameron."

"Yeah I know, but it's taking you longer every time. Soon enough I'll be beating you at this as well and then where will you go to mend your pride?"

"Checkers or cards maybe, who knows? Maybe I'll challenge you to a sprint."

They both shared a laugh at that, since Cameron had become the track star already, especially with the martial art class he had started going to after school.

"Well you never know, I might trip on a rock and hurt myself. And then I think even you could beat me." Cameron said, standing up from the bench they were sitting on. "Well, I should go meet Emily, I said I'd see her at the vending machines at noon."

"Emily? What happened to Katie? I thought you two were together." Jeremie asked

"That ended yesterday, and you can spare me the usual speech, I have it memorized." Cameron replied

"Oh yeah? How does it go then?" Jeremie challenged

"Cameron, you go through girls like water through a sieve. One of these days, you're going to run out of potential dates and then where will you be – all alone, or maybe with Milly or Tamiya if you haven't broken up with them already." Cameron said without missing a beat. He continued, "And once you're through with them, you'll be really sorry that you didn't pay attention to what I've said, since you'll be completely alone."

"Oh, uh, maybe you do have it memorized then." Jeremie said, not looking at Cameron

"Yeah, so until you come up with a new one, you can forget shaming me into anything." Cameron said with a slight smirk. "Anyway, I'm not actually meeting anyone right now. I'm going to get some help in Italian."

"Really Cameron, you speak French, English, and a little bit of German, but Italian eludes you?" Jeremie teased.

"Je parle Français et Anglais tres bien mon amis. Mais je ne parle pas italien."

"What?"

"I speak French and English very well my friend, but I don't speak Italian."

"Oh, duh. Well, if you're going to Italian, I'm going to go look through the old factory for parts for my robot."

"See you later then."

"Yeah."

()()()()

Two hours later, it was starting to get dark, and Cameron was just about done grasping the basic concept about how to order a pizza in Italian.

"Vorrai . . . una pizza . . . e una . . . cacoa . . . per favore ?"

"almost, except that you ordered a hot chocolate in the middle of summer. Not a very common choice." The teacher said.

"Ugh, dang it! Two hours and I order a hot chocolate instead of a coke!" Cameron's head made an audible bang as it hit the desktop.

"I think we should stop for the day. You're getting it."

"by 'getting it' do you mean I've almost achieved mediocrity?"

"Um, well, yes."

"I was afraid of that."

()()()()

Ten minutes later, Cameron was slumped on his bed, playing Spyro, when Jeremy came through the door with an armload of machine parts.

"Wow, hit a jackpot did you? There's a lot of stuff there." Cameron said with his eyebrows raised.

"Well, I have no idea if any of this stuff will help. I was just poking around when I found it."

"Huh? Found what? What did you find?" Cameron asked, swinging his legs off of the bed.

"The pile of machine parts, duh. What did you think I found, some massive robot thing?" Jeremie asked, hoping Cameron didn't notice the sweat he felt breaking out across his forehead.

"Well, I don't know, you could have found anything in an old factory like that." Cameron said, returning to his game.

"By the way, we've shared a room for two months, and I don't even know your last name. I know that you've had a lot of parents, but it seems like you must have stuck with one of the last names." Jeremie said as the thought struck him.

"My last name – well the one I use – is Hopper. It was my second one. I was too young to remember the first one when my birth parents died." Cameron said, focusing on his game but not playing it. Turning it off and putting his earplugs in he said, "It's late, I'm going to get some sleep."

()()()()

The next day, Jeremie noticed that Cameron was mostly acting normally, but kept glancing at a small picture he had in his pocket. Upon asking him about it, all Cameron would say was:

"It's in the past. I'd like to let it stay there."

He would not let anyone see the picture, and would slip it back into his pocket when anyone came near enough to see it. Jeremie only caught a couple of quick peeks at it, a flash of pink, and a roof in the background. He decided to get a better look that night.

Jeremie was unable to implement his plan that night, since he spent it most of it at the factory, and by the time he was back, he was too tired to do anything besides flop into his bed, exhausted from the day's events.

He set his alarm to go off a little earlier than usual, so he could find the photo and put it back before Cameron woke up the next morning.

()()()()

The sky was just starting to light up when Jeremie slipped out of bed to search. He knew Cameron had a small box in the bottom of his closet, and that he kept things that were valuable to him inside it, so it was the first place he decided to look. He crept across the room to the other closet the box was kept in and opened it, only to find that the box was locked. Figuring that Cameron would keep the key nearby, he ran his hands over the other things in the small space. Cameron's clothes were few enough that he kept them all in the drawers under his bed, and so the closet had his keyboard, his game controllers, a package of spare batteries, and his favorite coat, which he almost always wore, and had been where he had stowed the picture when he wasn't looking at it.

Checking through the coat's pockets, Jeremie discovered that there was no need for the key, because the picture was still there. Taking a breath and turning it to the side that had the picture, he saw a family of three standing outside the front gate of a house with a sign labeling it as the _**Her-**_ the rest ran off the side. Jeremie focused his attention to the people in the picture, starting with the father. He was a tall man with round glasses and graying hair, his mustache and eyebrows were a slightly darker shade than his beard and the rest of his hair, with his hand on the shoulder of a girl who must have been his daughter. The girl looked to be about his and Cameron's age, and stood directly next to the man. She had pink hair and looked like – Jeremie's eyebrows shot up. _No way! _He thought, _that girl looks exactly like Maya! I wonder if there's a connection. _The girl had a toddler sitting on her shoulders, and she was reaching up to hold him as the picture had been taken. The toddler had a wisp of hair exactly the same color as Cameron's, dark brown, and his eyes were shut by the sort of huge smile that only toddlers can pull off and be cute with.

Jeremie was startled out of his reverie as Cameron turned over in his sleep. He carefully replaced the photo, put everything back exactly the way it was, shut the closet door, and returned to his bed after re-setting his alarm for the usual time.

()()()()

"AAAAHHHH!"

Jeremie was woken up before his alarm went off by Cameron's cry of alarm. Throwing off his sheets, he stepped to the other boy and quickly shook him awake.

"Hey, Cameron, wake up!" he yelled in Cameron's ear.

"Huh? Wha- Jeremie, what time is it and why are you shaking me like you were Jim trying to get a confession out of someone?" Cameron demanded as soon as his eyes were open.

"You were yelling in your sleep. Bad dream?" Jeremie asked.

"Yeah, I think so, I don't really remember." Cameron replied.

At that moment, Jeremie's alarm decided to go off, startling them both.

"AH! Jeez Jeremie, why is your alarm on? We don't have classes today."

"Not quite, it's Saturday, we still have to deal with morning classes, but then we have the afternoon off, remember?" Jeremie teased Cameron "or are you still waking up?"

"Oh, right. I feel stupid now. As for waking up, yes, I am. I usually need a glass of water and a shower to get going. But today I feel like three cups of coffee wouldn't go amiss along with those."

"Oh well, we should probably hurry, or else we won't have time for breakfast."

()()()()

At the lunchroom, Jeremie and Cameron were sitting down with croissants and hot chocolate – coffee from the vending machines in Cameron's case – when Ulrich and Odd came up to them and asked if they could sit down.

"Sure" was Jeremie's answer. Cameron raised an eyebrow at the speed of it, but said nothing.

"So, did you stay late talking to Maya Jeremie? Or did you get back just after we did?" was the first thing out of Odd's mouth after he finished his first platter of food.

"Maya? Who's Maya? Did you meet a girlfriend last night Jeremie?" Cameron asked, confused.

"Maya's . . . a friend of ours. We met her last night in town. In answer to your question Odd, no. I actually got back in time to see your door close." Jeremie said, shooting Odd a pointed glare to forestall any further questions. As they finished their food and got up to leave, Sissi approached them, laying a hand on Cameron's shoulder.

"So how are you dear Ulrich and Cameron?" She asked. "Moping over breakfast is a terrible habit to get into, especially when Milly and Tamiya are around. They might decide to ask a few questions, and you can guess where your answers would go."

Cameron swatted her hand. He had learned that being second on Sissi's list of crushes was NOT a good place to be. "Better off without you asking the questions for them. now then, if you guys will excuse me, I have a few things to do." He rushed off, not noticing a small slip of paper fluttering out of his jacket pocket as he did. Jeremie hurried over to it and grabbed it before anyone else did.

"What's that Jeremie? Hey, that girl looks a lot like – like you-know-who." Odd finished in a low voice. "do you think that's a coincidence?"

"I don't know Odd, but I do know that I should give this back to Cameron before he misses it. Let's meet at the factory later so we can get Maya off of Lyoko."

"Okay, I'll be there once cheerleading practice is over. Later!" Sissi ran off to her first class.

"Well, we should get to Science, Mrs. Hertz will kill us if we're late on a half day." Odd said, stroking his pointed hair.

"By the way Odd, how much hair gel did you use to keep that there?" Jeremie asked.

"I'd rather not talk about it." Odd said, his voice neutral.

()()()()

In Science class, Jeremie slid into his seat next to Cameron and passed him the photo.

"You dropped this in the lunchroom. I figured you would want it back pretty badly." Jeremie said, keeping his eyes down. "If you don't mind my asking, who were they?"

"They were the first people to adopt me – the Hoppers. Aelita was my babysitter before my parents died, and she took care of me for the year that I stayed there. Franz was, well, he wasn't around much, that's about all I remember of him, that and he played the piano pretty often. _Twinkle Twinkle Little Star_ was his favorite; he played it almost every day when he got home to let us know he was back. He was really quiet, we never heard him coming, ever." Cameron smiled, but then it faded, as he thought further. "They disappeared after one year of my being there. These men in black suits took me to the orphanage, and every time I've changed families, they've been the ones to take me. They're really creepy."

Mrs. Hertz stood up in front of her desk and rapped it to get their attention. "Alright class, today we're going to be using the textbooks, so everybody get theirs and turn to page 308. Quickly now!"

()()()()

After lunch, Cameron and Jeremie continued their conversation about the Hoppers.

"So, did you get the keyboard because of Franz?"

"Yeah, it's the only thing that I really remember about him, so I play as often as I can, especially the song he always played. I've forgotten a lot about him, but I visit the house every so often to reawaken those memories about them that I've lost." Cameron brushed away a tear, and headed towards the woods. "Speaking of which, I haven't gone in a while, it's probably getting pretty dusty."

Jeremie stood up from the steps they had been sitting on. "Do you mind if I tag along?"

"Sorry, but no way. The house is my private place, and I'm not ready to let anyone inside." Cameron said over his shoulder. "See you later."

"See you." Jeremie said to his retreating form.

At the Hermitage, Cameron retrieved his cleaning things and dusted the shelves and counters and everywhere else. He never went into _her_ room though. There were too many memories there for him to deal with, and he didn't want to break down in the middle of her carpet, where her ghost could see. The men in black had never said that they were dead, but Cameron knew that they were. They had been his family, had taken care of him, and loved him as family. If they were still alive, then they would have come to him by now. They would have let him know that they were still around before a decade had gone by.

Right?

**End of Chapter Two**

**I'll try to update a chapter a two every week, but I may fall behind a bit. Anyway, please review! Any and all comments are appreciated, so be honest please!**


	3. Teddygodzilla

**Disclaimer: I do not own anything but the plot of this story.**

Chapter Three

Teddygodzilla

Cameron turned his head to the unmistakable sound of Milly and Tamiya reporting events surrounding the upcoming prom. When they questioned Sissi, he stood up from the outlet he was plugging the microphone into and walked over to Yumi and Ulrich where they were setting up the disco ball.

"Any idea what Sissi's going to do?" He asked, "apart from make fun of those two, that is."

"Well, we're about to find out," replied Ulrich. They could hear Sissi laughing at the entrance of the room.

"You two little babies aren't any sort of reporters. No one reads your paper, and anyway, why would you be covering the prom in the first place? You two don't even have dates for it." Sissi laughed shrilly, along with Nicolas and Herve's chuckles. "How about this, I'll answer your questions, if you can get a date to prom, hmm?"

"I could get a date any time I wanted you big bully!" Milly shouted angrily.

"Well go on then, I'm waiting." Sissi said, sneering.

Milly was thrown off guard by Sissi's reply. She turned unsteadily to Ulrich, "um Ulrich? Would, would you go to the prom with me?" She asked, her voice trembling.

"Oh, uh, sorry, but I'm not sure it would work out. Besides, I've already promised to go with Yumi." Ulrich said, sympathy in his voice.

"Hah! Like I said, you babies aren't reporters." Sissi said as Milly fled the building before her tears could show.

"Nice Sissi, really nice. Besides, I'll note that you don't have a date to prom either. Unless you're planning on going with Nicolas or Herve, of course – they'd be all too glad to go with you." Cameron said, unable to keep the disdain he felt for Sissi out of his voice.

"Well I'm going with you of course dear Cameron. Unless Ulrich will go with me instead of Yumi, which I'm sure won't be happening by now." Sissi said, approaching them.

"You're going with me? Are you insane? I'm so not going with you, and frankly, I doubt anyone in his right mind would want to go with you Sissi." Cameron said, taking a few steps away from the outraged girl.

"Yeah, if being mean were a category in the contest, Sissi would win hands down, huh Jeremie." Ulrich muttered, setting some tape down on the floor.

"Well, yes, but try getting Ms. World to see it like that." Jeremie replied

"Ms. World huh?" Odd said, taking hold of the Mic, "Ms. In-her-own-world's more like it."

Even looking up at the girl atop the ladder from the floor, everyone in the gym could see her face turn beet red.

()()()()

"Well, that took a while; I hope it'll be worth it. I wonder how Milly is doing, getting slammed that hard by Sissi is going to take some time to get over." Cameron said, opening his closet and taking out his keyboard. At everyone's surprised faces he continued, "Wait, you guys didn't know about this? I thought Jeremie would have told you guys."

"Can you play it?" Odd asked excitedly.

"No Odd, I have an expensive electronic keyboard stashed in my closet because it makes a good coat hook. What do you think?" Cameron replied, sarcasm dripping from every word.

"Well then play something, don't just plug your headphones in and tune us all out. I know that you like your alone time, but just this once? Please?" Odd was practically on his knees, begging Cameron to play something. "I'll give you my desserts for, for three days if you do."

Cameron looked to the other members of the group for help; or maybe to see if they wanted him to play as well. Either way, the result was the same. He sighed, plugged in his keyboard, and sat on the folding stool leaning against his desk.

"Fine, one song, and then you owe me three days of desserts. Shake on it."

"Done!" Odd said enthusiastically.

"Ugh, great." A deep breath, and then Cameron started playing.

_"Sakura, Sakura,_

_Cherry blossoms_

_In the sky,_

_Near and far as _

_Eye can see,_

_Like a mist of_

_Floating clouds, _

_In the fragrant_

_Blush of spring,_

_Come oh come,_

_Come oh come,_

_Come and see the cherry trees."_

After a few seconds, he lifted his hands off of the keyboard, and looked pointedly at Odd, "three days, we agreed, no backing out."

Odd lifted his hands, "I know, I know. I don't back out of deals that I make."

"Fine, just making sure."

"Pardon me, but isn't that a Japanese song Cameron?" Yumi asked.

"Well, yeah. Why, did you hear a better version?" Cameron asked uncertainly, not sure where Yumi was going with this.

"Oh, no, I just wanted to make sure." Yumi said.

Cameron then moved the keyboard so that he could sit on his bed and still play it, and then plugged in his headphones while everyone else crowded around Jeremie's computer. Jeremie had told them about Cameron's stay with the Hoppers, and Cameron had let them see the picture of the family, but they were now in the dark about what to do in that area.

"Do you think we should tell him about lyoko? And our Aelita?" Ulrich asked in a hushed voice. "I mean, if they are the same person, then that means Aelita was a real person once."

"Yes, that's why I think it's a coincidence. If Aelita were human, then we would be able to materialize her like the rest of you guys. Seeing as we can't, I say they're two different people. Similar perhaps, but still different people." Jeremie said. "Besides, can't you imagine what that would put him through? She was his sister, and they loved each other like siblings. If we told him, he would never be able to sleep, thinking that his older sister was trapped in a virtual universe, where everything wants to destroy her. If they are somehow the same person, the same thing would happen, only worse. He's thought of them as dead for almost ten years now, and he's the way he is. Telling him would make him vulnerable, with everything he knows stripped of him. He would be wrecked. If you want to do that to him, be my guest, but don't expect me to help you out when he wants her back." Jeremie leaned back in his chair and folded his arms. "Right now all we can do is materialize her. When it works, then maybe, until then, we keep our mouths shut."

"Yeah, you're right. By the way, has she contacted you since electricity monster?" Yumi asked.

"We talk almost every night, but Xana's been quiet, so" Jeremie stopped as Cameron stood and put his keyboard and headphones back.

"I'm going to go see if I can find Milly, later guys."

"See you"

"Later"

"Bye"

"Yeah"

Jeremie waited until the door had closed behind Cameron, and then continued speaking.

()()()()

As Cameron descended the stairs, his thoughts drifted back towards the year he spent at the Hermitage. Ever since he had arrived at Kadic, he had found that he had more and more trouble remembering it, and the people who had opened it and made it a home for him. He pulled his picture out and looked at it for a long time, pausing with his free hand on the rail.

_Aelita, Franz, what happened to you two. I know that the men in black know, but they never told me. And why has it become so hard recalling you guys? There was never any trouble before. Maybe it's because I'm getting older, and new memories are replacing the old ones. Still, why now? Why not before? Is it Jeremie and the rest of the gang? I've never really had friends like them before, and I'd hate to lose them, but what if by holding on to them, I lose you? What am I supposed to do now?_

These thoughts raced around in Cameron's head, until, overwhelmed by them, his hand opened and the picture fluttered down to the ground floor, where unfortunately, Sissi was just coming inside. Cameron raced down the stairs, desperate to get to the picture before she did, but it was too late. She had it and was peering at it when he reached her. Stretching out a hand, he said, "Give that to me Sissi."

"Why should I? Especially after you were so mean to me earlier," taking the top of it in both hands, she continued, "maybe I should rip this little piece of paper into pieces – that would serve you right."

"If you don't give it to me, I'll tell your father." Cameron said, still holding his hand out for the picture. "And if you damage something that belongs to someone else on purpose, he'll come down hard on you. Harder than he would if it were someone else, because you're his daughter, and you're supposed to set an example for others." Cameron held his eyes steady, letting just a tiny hint of the anger he was feeling towards the girl in front of him come into his voice.

After what felt like hours, but was only a few seconds, Sissi's haughty expression softened, and she gave Cameron the picture. "Okay, I believe you." She said softly. "Don't tell my father about this, please Cameron? I won't do it again, I promise."

Cameron's gaze softened from _steel _to something more like _rock. _"Okay, but keep that promise, or your father will hear about this."

Once Sissi nodded, he walked around her and out the doors. Once outside, he ran towards the park and the paths it concealed to the Hermitage. He wanted to see if anything there could help him keep his memories of the house and the family it had once sheltered.

()()()()

Cameron didn't stop running until he reached the front gate of the Hermitage. Pushing the squeaking gate aside, he walked up the steps to the front door. Noting that those hinges shrieked in protest as well, he made a mental note to get some oil next time he was in town.

Past the living room and office entrances, Cameron climbed the stairs to the second floor. He hesitated, and then placed his hand on the doorknob to Aelita's old room. Surprisingly, the hinges to her door were silent as the door opened, and showed him a sight he hadn't been sure he would ever be able to face. The room was dusty, and needed to be cleaned after an obvious search by someone, probably the Men in Black. Cameron turned around and went to fetch the duster and spray he had stashed in the kitchen, returning a moment later with the items in hand.

Cleaning the old room took hours, and it was late afternoon when he was finished with it. He needed to realign the window and replace the glass, but other than that it looked like a normal teenager's room – one that needed to be tidied up, yes – but normal all the same. He sat down on the bed and sighed, then jumped back up and threw back the covers when he heard a crackling sound underneath them. An old and slightly rumpled sheet of paper was revealed, with handwriting on it that Cameron recognized as belonging to his mourned sister. It went like this:

_Cameron,_

_You won't be able to read this for a while, and you may not even find it, but I feel responsible to leave you some part of me to remember. You were too young to understand when daddy and I left, but I think by the time you find this you will._

_If you're reading this, then daddy and I are gone, and we'll almost certainly never see each other again. The Men in Black are not to be trusted, and as a result of that, daddy made arrangements for you to attend Kadic Academy when you turn thirteen. I doubt you know this, but it turns out that he teaches there, well, for you it will be taught, but right now he's a science teacher. He wanted me to leave a note for you, to tell you not to mourn us, because we're still alive. We'll be safe and sound until he brings us home. Until then however, we can't see each other. He hasn't told me where we'll be yet, but I hope it's in the mountains, like our house there. Do you remember it Cameron? That old log cabin in the woods, where we would go outside and play in the snow until it got dark enough that he'd call us in? I hope you do, because those are some of the memories that I will always keep with me, no matter how long I live._

Here the writing became more urgent, and hurried, as if Aelita hadn't had much time to finish.

_The Men in Black are here, so I have to make this quick. Daddy says they won't spend much time in my room, because they're after him. Don't forget us Cameron; we'll come back to you, because elves always come back._

_Aelita_

Cameron swiped away his tears as he read the last sentence. Then it hit him: _elves always come back. _His father had put a poster above his crib of a group of elves walking along a path towards a small cottage. He had always played with an elf toy. Aelita had had an Elf doll named Mr. Puck. Where other kids had teddy bears, he'd had a little elf doll called Mr. Edhel.

_Elves always come back._

The last sentence was a code, telling him where to look. He hurried out of Aelita's room and into his. The poster was still up, the edges were curling in, but it was there. He walked over to it, moved the crib out of the way, and gently took it down. Sure enough, behind it was a small chest, like the one in his closet, along with his old Elf doll. He took both out, and looked at the hole again. The only thing left was a pair of keys, one was for the box, and the other was a key that he didn't recognize. He put both in his pocket, picked up the box, and slipped Mr. Edhel, or Mr. Elf into the pocket without the keys.

()()()()

When he had returned to the dorms, it was almost time for the prom, but he had to go by his room first for two reasons. The first was to drop the newly recovered items off, and the second was to get dressed for the prom.

Once he reached his room, he set the box down on his bed, along with Mr. Edhel, and the keys. He changed quickly, and then decided that since he wasn't meeting anyone at the prom, he could take a look inside the box before he left. Unlocking it, he saw that the first thing on top was another note. But this one was not in Aelita's handwriting, it was in his fathers. This one went like this:

_Cameron,_

_I'm writing to you in hopes that you have received Aelita's note about the Men in Black and the Elves. As you're reading this, I assume that you have, and you found Mr. Edhel, along with the keys and the box that this note is in. As you've found out, one key is to the box. The second key is to my room at the Hermitage. I hope that you've taken care of the place, in our absence, and I also hope to see you again. But as our luck would have it, we will not speak face to face until we have both passed from this life._

_I had to take Aelita somewhere safe, and I've made arrangements for your future as well, which you should know from Aelita's letter. I want you to know that even though you were not old enough to take with us to the safe haven I've created, I will always love you and hold you close to my heart – although not as close as Aelita holds you eh? She always did spoil you rotten you little mischief-maker. I also wanted to leave you memories of us, things to ensure that we will not fade from this world even as we leave it. Therefore, I have left you a picture of the three of us, which will suffice for about a decade, but after a while it would starte to fail you, and you would return to the Hermitage in order to keep us in your heart. In the box is my old pocket watch, several more pictures, a picture of you and Aelita, and a picture of me. Also within is a locket, which is set to those pictures I just specified, along with Aelita's old charm bracelet. It is my hope that one day, we will be together again as a family, and on that day, you will have those two items safe with you, memories to guard against the passage of time. I wish you the best with your life, make us proud hmm?_

_Franz Hopper_

_PS. When you go to Kadic, take a look at the archives, and check in my old file cabinet. There's a little something in there for you, keep it safe, but take nothing else out._

Cameron was almost in tears for the second time that day, wiping his eyes with the back of his hand to make sure that no tears splashed onto the precious letters his family had left for him. Looking through the box, he found the locket and the two pictures Franz had specified. Fitting them into the locket – a thin metal chain holding the small circle of gold – he smiled at how happy Aelita looked, and the fact that his ever-so-serious father had managed to smile for the camera for once. Of all the things that he had gotten over the years, he knew that the locket would always be the most precious to him.

Storing the rest of the pictures and the letters in his treasure box, he found a third picture slot on the locket – into which he inserted the picture of the three of them in front of the Hermitage – and then he headed down to the Gym, wiping his eyes one more time to make sure they were dry.

()()()()

Once at the Prom, he quickly was tracked down by Sissi, who he managed to lose after only a few minutes of dancing – he still hadn't fully forgiven her about earlier – and promptly ran into Ulrich, who was clearly distracted by something.

"Ouch!"

"Oof! Hey Cameron, been here long? I just got here myself." Ulrich smiled tiredly at the other boy, "I was planning on meeting Yumi here, but I can't find her. Have you seen her?"

"No, not yet. I just got away from Sissi. Oh dear, speak of the devil and she will appear. Your turn with her." Cameron turned and ducked into the crowd, leaving Ulrich behind to deal with Sissi.

After a few more minutes, the Prom Queen contest began, with the Principal introducing the contestants. Sissi was obviously going to win again this year, as Yumi wasn't here to boot her off the stage, and then they'd have to deal with her ego again until next prom. Great. The contest took a turn for the stranger when Ulrich took over, saying something about giant teddy bears being about to attack the school. Cameron covered his face with his hand and sighed, the day had been one wild turn to another, but this took the prize for wildest.

Being unable to sway the crowd, even with – or perhaps because of – Jim's agreeing with him, Ulrich jumped off of the table he was on to find anyone who would listen to him, only to be interrupted by the Giant Teddy Bear in question deciding to crash the party -literally. Most of the student body fled, carrying Cameron with them, despite his attempts to reach and help Ulrich. He decided to go with the flow and wait outside until the flood had ceased, and then re-enter and help him out, but as he came back to the door, the Bear froze in place as it had been about to crush Ulrich. Cameron ran over to the fallen boy as Yumi reached him. The other two didn't seem as confused as he did, so he felt entitled to a few questions.

"Okay, what was with that thing, how did you know about it, was that Milly's bear that she lost earlier or something else? And will one of you PLEASE tell me what's going on before I do something desperate. In fact, I may do something desperate anyw" Cameron was cut off by a great white light that seemed to wash over everything, and then he blacked out.

()()()()

Cameron turned his head to the unmistakable sound of Milly and Tamiya reporting events surrounding the upcoming prom. When they questioned Sissi, he stood up from the outlet he was plugging the microphone into and walked over to Yumi and Ulrich where they were setting up the disco ball.

"Any idea what Sissi's going to do?" He asked, "apart from make fun of those two, that is."

"Mock Milly, probably." Replied Ulrich. They could hear Sissi laughing at the entrance of the room.

"The usual bet?" Cameron asked

"You're on." Ulrich said, as both boys got out their wallets.

"You two little babies aren't any sort of reporters. No one reads your paper, and anyway, why would you be covering the prom in the first place? You two don't even have dates for it." Sissi laughed shrilly, along with Nicolas and Herve's chuckles. "How about this, I'll answer your questions, if you can get a date to prom, hmm?"

Cameron handed Ulrich a five dollar bill.

"I could get a date any time I wanted you big bully!" Milly shouted angrily.

"Well go on then, I'm waiting." Sissi said, sneering.

Milly was thrown off guard by Sissi's reply. She turned unsteadily to Ulrich, "um Ulrich? Would, would you go to the prom with me?" She asked, her voice trembling.

Ulrich walked over to the young girl, knelt, put a hand on her shoulder and said one word: "Sure." He then stood and turned to his former date, "You're not angry, are you Yumi?"

Yumi smiled, "Oh no, my secret admirer will take me to prom tonight, right Odd?"

Odd's reply was lost in Sissi's shriek of outrage, "What?! _WHAT_?! I don't believe this, you're going to prom with that, that baby?!"

Ulrich was unconcerned by the waves of outrage coming from the Principal's daughter. "Yeah, I am. Surprised?"

Cameron leaned against the door frame, "Well, Sissi, you can always hope. Who knows, maybe if you grow a few brain cells, one of us will date you after all!"

Sissi was far from amused by the remark, or the laughter that stemmed from it. With her straight back radiating even more rage than before, she turned on her heel, and walked away.

"You're recording this, right Tamiya?" Milly asked between laughs.

"Every moment of it Milly, every moment."

**End of Chapter Three**

**Please, please tell me what you think of it. I really appreciate any comments you guys make.**


	4. Seeing is Believing

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot of this story.**

Chapter Four

Seeing is Believing

Cameron yawned and turned to a new page in his notebook. He had finished a drawing of Aelita, and now felt like doodling something else while the lab worker from the power plant droned on, and on, and on about energy or something like that. He snapped out of his reverie when Jeremie moved next to him, raising a hand.

"Sir, is there an atomic process for fusing virtual particles, and materializing them in the real world?"

"Uh, I'm afraid that lies solely in the realm of science fiction, sorry."

Mrs. Hertz walked forward to lay a hand on Jeremie's shoulder, "Mr. Belpois is an excellent student, but he's also a bit of a dreamer."

Odd, Ulrich, and Cameron turned around and coolly regarded the class at the uproar of laughter that followed. The class shut up in time for the three of them to turn back to the front, and see the projector stop working. Jeremie stiffened at the occurrence, which drew Cameron's attention back into the real world from his new drawing – this one was a sketch of his original picture, as well as Aelita's old doll, Mr. Puck.

_Wow, I can't remember a word of Italian, and in History, I might as well sleep through the class, but I can remember what my adoptive sister's doll looked like, down to the last hair. _Cameron thought, as he finished sketching in Mr. Puck's scarf. _It's not exactly a Mona Lisa, but I haven't seen the thing in ten years, so it shouldn't exactly be a perfect rendition._

As the bell rang, Cameron noticed that Jeremie was fidgeting nervously, as well as glancing towards his computer bag.

"Jeremie, something wrong? You look kind of pale." Cameron stated, coming up beside the blond.

"Hmm? Oh, it's nothing." Jeremie replied.

"Was Maya supposed to send you an e-mail last night and you haven't gotten it yet?" Cameron teased.

"Who?"

"Maya, your girlfriend that you met in town the other night, when you went by the factory, that Maya – You didn't break up with her already, did you?"

"Um, Maya and I were never together Cameron, but very funny all the same. No, I'm worried about the . . . history project."

"You're joking, right Einstein? You finished that last week, the same day we got it! If anyone should worry, it's Cameron and me. Ours isn't even started!" Odd spoke up suddenly from behind them, making them jump. "Well, my half isn't started, I'm not so sure about Cameron's half."

"Seriously Odd? You do realize it's due the day after tomorrow, right? If I fail it because of you, I'll, I'll, I don't know what I'll do to you, but it won't be pleasant. Got it?" Cameron said sharply.

"Relax Cameron, two days is plenty to get it done. I'll just look at Jeremie's and copy off of it." Odd replied, holding his hands up in a 'Calm down and don't punch me' gesture.

"Relax? _Relax? _If you copy Jeremie's, we'll fail for sure! He has a totally different subject, remember dummkopf?" Cameron was almost shouting, "I can't believe you just said that! That's it, I'm asking for a partner transfer."

"Too late for that, the teacher won't say yes. By the way, what does dummkopf mean?" Odd asked, with his curiosity spiked.

"It means moron in German Odd, a phrase quite well suited to you in this case." Cameron said back.

()()()()

Outside, the boys met up with Yumi, shortly approached by the Principal about their request to form a band.

"Odd, I've thought it over and you can form your group, the um, fox trot fanatics?" Principal Delmas said.

"It's Pop Rock progressives, sir." Yumi politely corrected him. "Thank you."

"But, it has to be open to anyone who wants to play, understood?" The Principal queried.

"Yes sir, thanks a lot!" Odd replied, almost jumping for joy.

When the Principal had walked off, Odd did in fact, jump for joy, high-fiving Ulrich and Yumi. "Hey Cameron, I don't suppose you have a drum set tucked up in your closet with your piano, do you?"

"Sorry, but no. Besides, I'm not really into band playing. I tried it at my last school and it . . . well let's just say it didn't go well." Cameron said, rubbing the back of his head with embarrassment.

"Oh well, whatever you say. Hey Jeremie, let's go get the flyers printed out. If we go now, we can still make it to lunch!" Odd and Jeremie hurried off to the dorms to make the posters, leaving Cameron alone with Yumi and Ulrich.

"Well, I'll leave you two *cough* _lovebirds _*cough cough* alone." Cameron also ran off to avoid the hailstorm of verbal and physical attacks launched by the other two.

Back in his room, Cameron narrowly avoided knocking Odd over and spilling posters everywhere.

"Whoa, watch out Odd!" Cameron grabbed the top poster off of the stack, reading aloud, " Auditions for drummer in the Pop Rock Progressives in the Gym directly after lunch, all are allowed to come and try out, experience preffered, but not required. Huh, you really were serious about that, weren't you Odd?"

"What are you saying, I'm always serious!" Odd said indignantly

"Well, yes, except for the ninety-nine point eight percent of the time when you're not!" Cameron laughed, replacing the poster on the stack. "I'm going to play for a bit, be down to lunch later guys."

"Uh-huh"

"Can I have your side dish?"

" . . . No Odd, you cannot have my food."

"Aw, dang it!"

()()()()

Once the other two boys were gone, Cameron shut the door and retrieved his piano, as well as his headphones, and the box of pictures he had found at the Hermitage. He had meant to look through them before now, but something or someone had always interfered. Now though, he could look at them in peace. He placed a Cd into his player, and turned up the volume so that it would sound like he was playing, and hopefully keep anyone else away. He opened the box and set the letters from Aelita and Franz off to one side. The pictures in the box varied, from portrait shots of Aelita and Franz, to pictures of the Hermitage, or the house in the mountains, and several pictures of the Hermitage grounds. He smile fondly at them, the smile only fading when he realized that there were no more pictures to look at, and that his Cd was no longer playing. Quickly storing the photo box back in his closet, he grabbed to Hermitage key and headed over.

Once inside the old house, he headed up to the one room he had never been able to visit – his father's. He stopped only to grab his cleaning supplies, all of the doors in the house had been re-oiled during his last visit, the only time between now and his finding the pictures that he had come by. He went up the stairs and over to the door of the master bedroom, unlocking it and stepping inside, coughing at the dust kicked up with every step. He quickly crossed to and gingerly pushed the window open, unlike Aelita's it hadn't shattered and fallen mostly out of the frame. Instantly, fresh air wafted through the room, stirring up more dust and forcing Cameron out. He decided to wait a little while and do the rest of the house, while the old bedroom aired out.

There turned out to be little of interest in his father's old room, a couple of pictures of a woman who must have been Anathea, Aelita's mother, and a few old books. It wasn't until he looked under the bed that he found a relatively heavy box, which turned out to hold several machine parts, some electrical software, and at the bottom, designs for robots that Franz had never built. Blowing dust off of the designs, Cameron noticed a small mark, maybe a logo in the upper right hand corner. It looked like a target, with a line coming out of the top and bottom, with two more lines on either side of the bottom one. He gave it little thought, and turned his attention back to the designs and boxes content.

Back at Kadic, Cameron unrolled the designs, tacked them up on the wall next to his desk, and unloaded the parts out of the box, stowing it safely under his desk. Separating all the pieces out took time, especially when he realized the computers wouldn't turn on, and neither would anything that used an outlet. He shrugged, it was still early afternoon - he had time to set the 'bots up. He decided to start with what looked like the simplest one, a small car-like machine that looked like it had a camera mounted on it. Cameron pulled out a robot similar to it from underneath Jeremie's desk – it would help to have something to go off of besides paper.

Several hours later, the robot was finished, and rolling around at Cameron's direction. There was still a rather sizable pile of parts left on the desk, and Cameron suspected that they were for the other designs, some of which looked almost like they were based off of animals. He shrugged, decided to work on it in the morning, and went out for some air.

Upon reaching the school gates, Cameron was almost run over by Yumi, who looked like she was in a hurry to get somewhere.

"Trouble Yumi?" He called after her, not getting a response from her retreating form. "Huh, apparently there is. I wonder what it could be."

()()()()

Twenty minutes later, Cameron was walking back along the school fence, when he noticed something weird happening with the pylon near the front gate, as well as Yumi talking with a pair of firemen. As he approached, the power pylon let off a burst of electricity down the cables, towards the nuclear power plant. _That does not look very good . . . _Cameron thought, getting a few feet further away from the overcharged tower.

Yumi screamed something, and then the electricity just sort of stopped happening, as if someone somewhere had flipped a switch and shut it down. A few seconds after that, a strange bubble of white light came over everything, leaving Cameron just enough time to do what every sensible person would do:

He yelled, "What in the world is that thing?"

And then it overtook him as well.

()()()()

"Hey Cameron, do you mind if we borrow your keyboard for our show? We were going to borrow one from the music store, but they're closed, so . . ."

"Yeah, sure. Just don't break it, or you're buying me a new one." Cameron warned Ulrich as he bent down over his desk. "I'm afraid I might not make it to the show this afternoon, I want to finish this robot really badly, but I'll do my best."

"No problem, see you later."

"Later."

Cameron half turned away from the robot as the door swung shut behind Ulrich. Then he turned back to the desk and picked up his screwdriver. The designs from the hermitage were proving to be incredibly intriguing; he was working on one that looked sort of like a crab. He figured it would be a great way to fetch small things like his headphones, or maybe to carry a camera if he went somewhere his car/camera/robot thingamabob couldn't.

**End of Chapter Four **

**So, did you love it? Hate it? Please let me know either way! I will always accept reviews, no matter what they say.**


	5. Holiday in the Fog

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the Plot of this story**

Chapter Five

Holiday in the Fog

Cameron awoke to the last day of school before vacation started, he didn't have any plans, but it would at least be nice to have some time to work on his robots for a while. He hadn't had the chance since the first show the Pop Rock Progressives had put on, and he only had the first two finished. He figured that he could get through each of the designs at two days each at the longest, a bug looking thing, something that looked like a wasp, and a really cool remote control car were at the top of his list, and he figured that he could finish and fine-tune them by the end of this week, leaving him two weeks to work on the other robots, as well as a song he was working on. He wasn't writing it, but he did want to learn it in case another girl caught his eye. He swung out of bed and rubbed his eyes, mentally readying himself for the day when Jim knocked on the door, saying that the Principal wanted to see Jeremie directly after breakfast.

Cameron made a note to tell Jeremie whenever the boy woke up.

Standing, he made his way to the bathroom with his toiletries, as well as a towel and bathrobe, to start the day.

When he got back to the room, he felt awake, and had conceived an idea about his working prototype Krab. The designs had a trio of circular panels on the front of them, just under the shell, as well as three panels directly over them. If he could get a camera into position in the lower panels, and a light behind the higher ones, it would make a very effective camera for his late-night escapades. The bug-like robot had a similar panel on it, right above its legs. He could put another camera behind that one, and it could be a day camera, he knew a very good paint store, and could probably find some of the same colored paint that was on the walls and carpet here. Excellent camouflage. As for the Krab, he knew there was some dark grey spray paint in the garden shed, which would be good for it going unnoticed during the dark hours when the lights were off. He smiled to himself, he didn't know what he might need the cameras for, but Aelita and Franz both had said that the Men in Black were not to be trusted. If they came calling again, he wanted to be able to get away.

Shaking Jeremie awake, Cameron passed Jim's message to the boy. He was curious as to why the Principal wanted to see Jeremie, but he decided to let the matter rest, as his stomach rumbled, eager for croissants and hot chocolate.

()()()()

"By the way Jeremie, do you know why the Principal wants to see you?" Cameron asked after his fifth croissant of the morning. One reason he never gave Odd his food was that he ate just as much.

Jeremie, Ulrich, and Odd exchanged glances, "Well, it may have something to do with a piece of artwork that the three of us worked on last night." Jeremie replied.

"Piece of artwork? Wait a minute, that picture of Jim – That was you guys? But why aren't you two in trouble?" Cameron directed the question at Ulrich and Odd, "actually, wait, don't tell me. You heard Jim coming and Jeremie waited to fix some tiny flaw in the picture while you two ran?"

"Umm, yeah. That's pretty much it in a can." Ulrich replied. Odd was busy inhaling another platter of food, but he gave a thumbs up to agree with Ulrich's statement.

"Wow Jeremie. That's just like you, risk detention to fix an unnoticeable little detail. Just one question, why didn't you bring me?"

"Well, we tried honestly. But we couldn't wake you up in time. So we left without you. Sorry." Odd replied through a mouthful of bread. "Besides, we figured you would appreciate the sleep before a double Italian period."

"Oh jeez, thanks for reminding me. That class and History are the Bane of my existence."

The bell went off, signaling the end of breakfast.

"Well, you should probably go see the Principal Jeremie. He won't like it if you're late." Cameron stood, "I hope you're not planning on my being there, like Odd says, my Italian grade won't take many more beatings before it totally bombs out. Later."

"Gee, thanks for the support. That's okay though, Odd and Ulrich will be there for me, right guys?"

"Yeah, sure thing Einstein. It'll be nice not being the one in trouble for once."

Ulrich looked at his phone, "Yumi sent me a message, she'll meet us outside the office building. See you in Math Cameron."

"Later."

()()()()

An hour and a half later, Cameron was struggling to pull a sentence together. He felt that any more Italian, and his brain would explode from effort. To relax his mind, he pushed the evil language out of his mind, and called up the start of one of _his _songs. He had tried some composition, and had pulled a theme from his new favorite game, and it went something like this:

_While we grow old,_

_We become more bold,_

_We stand together,_

_And we can fight forever,_

_While I draw breath,_

_You will not find death_

_I swear on this blade,_

_You'll get back to the glade,_

_But I fear that my time is drawing near,_

Cameron was jerked back to the real world by his partner shaking him slightly. Startled, he returned to his work, reluctantly pulling on his meager knowledge of Italian to write a paper on differences between past and present tense. He wished that he had been allowed to take French, it was so much simpler – at least it was to him. Odd and Ulrich both acted like it was Ancient Greek, and Jeremie, well . . . Jeremie couldn't tell the difference between _Je _and _Tu. _For the record, one meant I, the other meant You. It wasn't that hard.

After the class was over, Cameron headed to Math. He absolutely loved this class; numbers always made sense, and didn't change their meaning while his back was turned.

A few moments before the bell rang to start the class, Jeremie, Ulrich, and Odd rushed through the door and slipped into their seats. Cameron flashed Odd a questioning eyebrow from across the room. The gang could practically read each others minds, and a few moments later, Cameron received a message detailing Jeremie's punishment.

_Jeremie got detention for the entire break. He can't leave school grounds._

Cameron replied: _Wow, that must really stink. On the upside, he can help me out with my prototypes. My cam-bot has developed a bug, and won't respond to the remote._

Even from the other side of the room, Cameron could see Odd's smile at Cameron's optimism, before bringing his hopes down. _Good luck with that, the paint we used is long-lasting stuff, and I have a hunch Jim isn't going to be the one cleaning it off the wall._

Cameron allowed himself a smile at that, which unfortunately was just as Mrs. Meyer was looking for someone to answer the warm-up question.

"Cameron, care to give us the answer?"

"Huh? Oh, umm," Cameron quickly scanned the board, "x equals eighteen, y equals five."

"Correct, but next time, pay attention, or you'll cause the class to have an extra page of homework."

Everyone shot Cameron a glare, as if to say _don't you DARE give us homework over break_. Cameron merely grinned mischievously and looked down at his paper.

()()()()

That afternoon, as everyone was leaving for break, the gang was clustered around the front gate.

"So while Odd gets to go to the other side of the planet to see his family, and Yumi goes for a trip to the mountains," nobody in the group saw Cameron's eyes open wide for a moment while Ulrich complained "I get math lessons from possibly the only person in the world who might beat Odd's jokes at putting me to sleep."

Most of the group laughed at that. "Oh cheer up Ulrich; at least you _have_ somewhere to go. Jeremie and I are stuck here alone with GI Jim, and won't that be pleasant." Cameron said.

"Oh you two won't be alone. I'm staying for the vacation as well." Sissi's unpleasantly shrill voice sounded suddenly from behind them, and they turned, "I'll be sure and be good company, just watch."

"Belpois! Get over to your mural and clean that wall off! And Sissi, I'd laugh while you can if I were you, because your father told me to oversee your studying while he's away, and that is exactly what I intend to do! Now follow Jeremie and I'll bring you a textbook and some paper."

Cameron broke the silence that followed, "You know Ulrich, suddenly I get the feeling that you're tutoring is looking a whole lot nicer. Considering that I'll be stuck here with Sissi, do you think I could come with you?"

"Hah! I wish, it would be a lot nicer if there were someone around to distract my tutor. I'm afraid my dad won't go for it though. See you in two weeks."

"See you guys," Cameron walked back to the dorms.

()()()()

An hour later, the first prototype of the wasp was complete. It was made from aluminum and plastic, to conserve weight, and the all of the cameras Cameron had bought were linked to the TV so he could see what they saw, plus there was a small microphone that he had installed into the wasp, so Cameron could have conversations with people from his bed – even when they were, say, scrubbing down a wall.

As Cameron put the finishing touches onto the remote sensor, he looked outside and saw Jim walk off, leaving Jeremie and Sissi alone. He pitied the other boy, until he noticed Jeremie hand Sissi the sponge and recline into Jim's chair and relax for a moment. His smirk was shattered when Jim returned, he lunged for his phone to warn Jeremie, but it was too late. Jim had reached the boy and was standing over him. Cameron could almost see the waves of annoyance rising from the burly Gym teacher, even from so far away. His eyes wandered back to the table, and an idea formed in his mind. Picking up the wasp in one hand, and the remote in the other, Cameron looked out over the campus. He came to a decision, set the two items down, opened the window, and inserted fresh batteries into the wasp and its camera. He felt that it was time for a little test flight.

()()()()

"Come on you two, put your backs into it! I could have done a better job when I was five years old!"

Jeremie blinked sweat out of his eyes and scrubbed harder at the wall. Most of the paint was off by now, but he had been working for an hour and forty-five minutes now, and could barely keep his arm straight it was so tired.

"Hello Jeremie, hey Sissi, hi Jim."

Cameron's voice came from directly above and behind the blond boy. As he turned, he realized there was a faint buzzing sound, almost like –

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"

The scream came from three throats at practically the same time. Cameron's wasp drone was forced to rise further and dodge as Jim threw empty soda cans and other things at it.

"Hey, cut it out will you Jim!? I've spent the last hour finishing this thing, and I'd rather not have you break it!" Cameron's voice emanated from the wasp, "JIM! STOP THROWING THINGS AT MY ROBOT!"

The yell got through to the burly man, even as he was about to throw his chair. Sissi was cowering under a bench, and Jeremie had backed up against a nearby wall, not fully able to believe his eyes.

"Cameron? Did you build that thing? I- How did you- but- I don't understand!"

The Wasp flew down so that the tip of its tail was level with Jeremie's eyes. "Of course I built it, what, did you think that I pulled it out of Jim's closet? I'm actually impressed it's flying so well, and still receiving the signal from the remote I made for it. Close your mouth by the way; the tail has a camera in it that I can see you with."

"Cameron? Are you inside that thing? How did you fit in there?" Sissi's voice was shaky as she crawled out from under her bench and stood.

"No, I'm not in the wasp. I'm actually sitting on my bed, looking at the TV, which is currently showing a fairly decent picture of what the wasp is seeing." The wasp now turned to Jim, "Okay, I know that you could keep going Jim, but Jeremie doesn't exactly have much stamina. Frankly I'm surprised that those two are still on their feet, I last looked out forty-five minutes ago before I got this thing fully airborne and wired properly. Plus, it's getting late, and soon enough they won't be able to even see the stupid picture. Wouldn't you agree that they've done enough, and call it a day?"

Jim was too dumbfounded by the giant talking metal bee that all he could do was nod, and then the Wasp buzzed back to the dorms, after relaying one more message; "and my work here is finished."

()()()()

Cameron guided the Wasp back into the room, setting it down on the table and onto a stand he had built specifically for it to land on before he turned off the drone and remote. He felt quite proud of the little thing, and plugged it in to recharge all of its batteries. Truth be told, he felt justifiably proud when the battery percentage for the drone, the microphone, and the camera all started climbing at once. Of course, he couldn't take all of the credit. Most of it had to go his father, and the wonderful designs he had provided. Of course, now that the Wasp was functional, Cameron would work on its looks. It was kind of rough around the edges, but he had a picture in mind that would make it look as slick and smooth as any living thing.

His reverie was interrupted by Jeremie coming into the room and falling over on his bed. Cameron shook his head, and then wrinkled his nose slightly by the odor that comes with working for nearly two hours, without a break, when your hobbies include tech, tech, and more tech.

"Hey, no offense Jeremie, but you kind of need a shower," Cameron opened the rest of the windows in the room, "really badly."

"Too exhausted to move, Jim's a jerk."

"Well, that's true, but you'll feel better after cleaning up, trust me."

Jeremie raised his eyes to glare at the more athletic boy, "oh be quiet. You've been working on freaky robo-bees for the last two hours, while I've been scrubbing long-lasting paint off of a cement wall."

"Yes, I know. I could see you from the window." A quiet sigh, "look Jeremie, I might not have been out there scrubbing, but I know what it's like to be so tired and worn out you want to just fall asleep. Trust me, the shower will be worth it."

Jeremie groaned and managed to pull himself up long enough to stagger to his closet and grab a towel, and then make it to the door. Cameron heard him moving down the hallway, using the wall for support as he did. Then he smirked, if Jeremie was worn out, that meant Sissi would be to, and the idea of whatever plans she had made forcing her to work was one of great pleasure for him to contemplate. His smirk grew into a grin: as an added bonus, she probably wouldn't have the sense to take a shower, which almost certainly meant that she would not get a restful night's sleep.

()()()()

That night, both Cameron and Jeremie were up late, Jeremie on his computer, and Cameron listening to music while working on a way to be able to see what his robots were looking at while he wasn't staring at a TV screen. The idea was actually entirely his, not just a design that his father provided. It looked like a pair of thick glasses, with one black lens. Once he put it on and activated it, the black lens flickered to life with a live feed to the Wasp, which just happened to be what was on at the moment. He deactivated it and switched to the Roach, since that was his dorm wanderer, and picked up its remote.

"Well Jeremie, I'm off. See you in the morning, because you'd better be asleep when I get back, or you won't even be able to move tomorrow." Cameron stood and put the Krab and its remote in his pocket, the Roach was useful for wandering indoors, where there were lights, but once outside, the visual was so poor it wouldn't be worth having. As a result, he would need both. Jeremie glanced nervously at the Roach and the pocket with the Krab in it. For reasons unknown to Cameron, the rest of the group didn't really like the robots, even though they were harmless. "Yeah, see you." He said, and turned back to his computer.

As the door shut behind the Roach, Cameron held his breath, praying that the lens would work at a distance. The lens flickered a bit, and then held steady, the only difference with a barrier between him and the camera was a slight red tinting to the screen.

Cameron walked the Roach to Jim's door, checked down the hallways, and then he walked it over to the hall he wasn't using to keep an eye on it while he slipped towards the dorm exits. No one approached, and soon he was at the stairs, placing the roach into his pocket, it was a durable little thing, but it's legs were tiny, he was starting to consider adding a flashlight to his Wasp – make it an all-purpose drone, when he heard Jim coming up the stairs. Quickly, he moved into the thin shadow in the corners, squeezing his eyes shut and praying that Jim was sleepy and not very aware. When he heard – and smelled – the big man pass, he opened his eyes and continued down the stairs. He hadn't gotten a run in that day, and he wanted to fix that. It would have to be a short one though, Jeremie would never let him hear the end of it if he came in and went to sleep soaked in sweat.

()()()()

The following morning, Cameron was experiencing a strange sensation upon waking up: he couldn't seem to focus his eyes, and there was a pink shine around everything. Cameron had gone to bed in his running gear, because he had been to tired otherwise, and had left his bot's in his jacket pockets, along with the glasses. He grabbed the jacket and fumbled for the window catch – if this was some sort of smoke, then it would help to have somewhere for it to vent. Opening the window, Cameron began to doubt that it was normal smoke, and immediately ran for the door. Coughing, he opened it, and ran outdoors straightaway. Catching sight of Yumi and Ulrich, he asked them what they were doing back at school already – at least he did once his lungs were clear of the Smoke.

"Jeremie called us, said there was trouble. Where is he by the way?" Yumi looked around, "he said he'd meet us at the gate."

Cameron was about to reply that he hadn't seen Jeremie that day when they heard a fit of coughing in the rapidly advancing smoke/fog/whatever it was. The three of them looked at each other, and then ran over to look at it. "While we're in the smoke, hold your breath!" Cameron cautioned the other two, "It doesn't seem right."

Ulrich replied once they had retrieved Jeremie, "What clued you in, the fact that it's pink or the fact that the breeze isn't affecting it?"

Yumi interrupted saying, "I'll get Jeremie out of the area while you guys look for Sissi and Jim – if they're inside, then they're in trouble."

Cameron smiled, "we should split up, each of us can check a floor, and that way, it will be done pretty fast."

Ulrich agreed, but then a thought occurred to him, "Wait, you said each of us, but between you and me there are only two. Hold on a second; did you get your Hornet working?"

"Ulrich, I told you, it's a Wasp, not a Hornet. And yes, I did." Pulling the camera glasses out of his pocket he continued, "And I also managed to make these things work to give me a live feed of whatever any one of the robots is doing, in this case, it will be checking the top floor, and giving me aerial recon once it finished with that. Savvy?"

Ulrich was surprised, "Uh, yeah, great. I'll take the girls floor, while you take the boys, and use your H- your Wasp to check out wherever else it can, do I have that right?"

"Sounds like a plan to me. Let's go." The two boys ran off towards the dorm building while Yumi half-carried half-dragged Jeremie away.

"Sissi? *Cough cough* Jim?" Another cough, Cameron was almost done with his floor when he lost contact with Ulrich for a moment, they had decided it would be best to keep their phones on and connected so that they didn't have to waste any time with dialing. He pressed the phone to his ear, "Ulrich, you still there man?"

Sissi's voice answered him, "Ulrich found us, we're in a storage closet, and the smoke can't reach us here, but there aren't any windows either, which means we're trapped."

Cameron swore to himself, that was just what they needed, "Okay, Sissi, stay calm, breathe slowly and shallowly, that should conserve the air. How's Ulrich?"

"He's alright, he just finished coughing, but he's unconscious, and I don't know how long he was in that smoke."

Cameron answered the nearly unspoken question, "He was in it for about twenty minutes, breathing through his handkerchief, while we searched for you. Okay, Sissi, I'm going to hang up, and call the fire department, so don't be scared when we lose contact." Truth be told, Cameron was really starting to feel faint from his time, even breathing through the collar of his jacket to help with the fumes. He hung up, got outside as quickly as he could, and dialed for the fire department. After he hung up, he coughed unbelievably hard, for nearly five minutes straight, and passed out on the ground.

()()()()

Cameron, Ulrich, and Jeremie snuck out with a can or two of spray paint each to do a portrait of Jim on the building housing the vending machine. A little tribute to their Gym teacher. As they were finishing, said Gym teacher ran by, chasing Kiwi. The trio calmly watched as he ran by, and then returned to their work, not worried by the overweight Phys Ed instructor.

"Hey guys, was it in the plan for Odd to bring Jim down here with kiwi?" Cameron asked as they set their paint cans down.

Ulrich was the one to reply, "Well, yes, but we weren't expecting it to be so soon. Besides, do you really think Jim would actually punish us for that picture?"

The three of them laughed as they walked away from the picture of "King Jim".

"Not really Ulrich, not really."

**End of Chapter Five**

**So again, did you guys love it? Hate it? Were you somewhere in between? Do you want me to alter any previous chapters? If you answered yes to any of those, PLEASE leave a review, seriously, I beg of you.**


	6. Log Book

**Disclaimer: I own nothing but the Plot of this story**

Chapter Six

Log Book

Cameron cracked his eyes open and yawned – he'd been working late last night on some music while Jeremy fine-tuned the robot he was going to use in the fair. Cameron was still jealous of him for getting to compete, but next year, he'd win the thing.

His alarm was playing the radio – he really hated the shrill clocks that sounded like the school bell – and he swung himself out of bed to switch it off. Rubbing his eyes, he looked across the room, only to see that Jeremie's bed was empty, and that the boy was sitting at his computer, typing out a long string of J's with his forehead. He got a towel and his toothbrush and shook Jeremie awake – whacking him upside the head always seemed to work – and headed to the bathroom.

On his way back, he heard a noise coming from Ulrich and Odd's room, it was either Odd's stomach, or one of them had lost something . . . again. Knocking, he was greeted by Odd who simply shook his head and went down to the lunchroom.

Poking his head into the dorm, Cameron was greeted by a maelstrom of flying items, and Ulrich kneeling at his closet, going through it.

"Okay Ulrich, what did you lose now?" Cameron said, leaning against the door frame.

"Huh? Oh, nothing, and you should probably get dressed before Jim or Delmas comes by and yells at you for being half-naked in the hallway." Ulrich replied, standing.

"Well, technically, I'm in your room, but I get your point. Will you be coming to breakfast, or should I split your meal with Odd?"

"Sure, if you want to get pulverized at Pencak Silat tonight." Ulrich's voice was slightly muffled by the drawer he had his head in at the moment, and after a moment he straightened and punched his desk in frustration. "Dang it! It should be around here somewhere!"

Cameron quickly left the room, when Ulrich was annoyed, he tended to hit things, and Cameron still had a bruise from the last time he'd been the closest thing. He turned his head at a flash of pink in the corner of his eye, and scoffed.

"What's the matter Sissi; you get glued to the wall?"

"No, I'm waiting for Ulrich, naturally." Sissi replied evenly, a little too evenly, in Cameron's opinion.

"Well, you might be waiting all day, he's in there looking for something, and doesn't seem too inclined to leave it at missing." Cameron stepped into his room before he had to look at the sneer he knew was forming on Sissi's face, wanting to get to breakfast rather into an argument with the girl while he was only wearing a towel.

()()()()

In the lunchroom, Cameron sat at the usual table, pushing aside a banana peel as he did so.

"Hey, do you guys know what Ulrich's looking for?" He asked, starting on his first – but surely not his last – croissant of the day.

"No, he wouldn't tell me. It sure seemed important for him to miss breakfast though." Odd replied, tossing down a third empty banana peel. Suppressing a burp, he continued, "I don't suppose he said that I could have his meal?"

"No, unfortunately not. Well, he said you could if you wanted to get hit, so if you want to risk it, go ahead." Cameron laughed "Who knows, he might feel like letting you enjoy it twice."

Odd went slightly green at the thought, and rubbed his stomach, "On second thought, I'll pass."

Jeremy set down the remnants of his meal and picked up a book. "I probably won't be at Gym class today, my" he coughed for a moment, "My robot's software has run into a rough patch. Can you guys cover for me?"

Cameron laughed "Honestly Jeremie, if you spent half as much time working out as you did on your robots, you would be in better shape than Ulrich by now. Anyway, we won't need to cover, because we're going to the pool today, so Gym is canceled."

Jeremie nodded "oh, right, forgot. Yumi will probably be here soon, so I'll go meet her outside while you guys finish."

After Jeremie left, Odd and Cameron finished eating in silence and followed, nearly tripping over Ulrich, who was sitting on the steps. "Hey Ulrich, waiting for someone? We're going to see Yumi right now, so you should hurry and eat if you want to see her before class." Cameron said with a slight smile.

"Haha, very funny. I'm not really hungry right now, but I'll see you guys in a bit."

Cameron was puzzled, but did not push the matter – if Ulrich wanted to talk, he would talk.

Odd and Cameron walked over to the tree Jeremie was leaning against to wait for Yumi. As Cameron pulled out his laptop, the Japanese girl in question walked up, which made him put the device away and stand to talk to her.

"Hey Yumi, what's up?"

But Yumi wasn't paying attention, she was busy staring over his shoulder towards where they had left Ulrich on the steps. Cameron glanced over his shoulder at the lone boy, and then did a double take:

Ulrich was no longer alone.

In fact, he was talking to Sissi, of all people, who was leaning over him, and smiling as if she had just won the lottery. As they watched, she grabbed his hand and pulled him away. As the two left, Ulrich threw a glance over his shoulder that plainly said _HELP ME!_

Yumi was really confused, and she wasn't the only one. "Umm, do any of you know what that was about?" She asked the other three. At the shake of their heads, she sighed, "well, the bell's probably going to ring any moment now, so we should get to class. Tell me if you get anything on it, will you?"

"Yes ma'am." Cameron said with a sarcastic salute, and they headed to their respective classes.

()()()()

As math class went on, and on, and on, Cameron noticed that Ulrich was devotedly taking notes on what the teacher was saying, and not looking at the pink clad girl next to him. Cameron looked back at Odd and Jeremie with a raised eyebrow, saying "okay, I know I'm seeing things, or this is a really, really, weird dream. Tell me that it's one of those two things."

Odd reached forwards and pinched his arm, hard.

"Ow! What was that for dummkopf?"

"Well you said it might be a dream, so I wanted to make sure you weren't dreaming. Even if it were a dream, we would all be having it. I say after class, I'll distract Sissi, while you guys grill Ulrich for information. Sound like a plan?"

Cameron and Jeremie nodded, unfortunately however, their conversation drew the teacher's attention.

"Odd! Would you mind repeating what I just said?"

Odd nearly fell out of his seat and cringed, rubbing the back of his head.

After class, Odd pulled Sissi one way while Jeremie and Cameron pulled Ulrich the other direction. When they were out of earshot from the other two, they asked him exactly what the heck was going on with him and Sissi.

Ulrich mumbled something.

"Uh, mind repeating that?" Cameron and Jeremie said in sync.

"My diary!" Ulrich said loudly, "Sissi found it and, and now she's using it to blackmail me."

Cameron reached out and patted the other boy's shoulder, "Well, I'll tell Yumi to meet Jeremie and me in our room, and she'll search Sissi's room while we're at the pool. If everything goes well, we'll have your diary back before we get there."

Ulrich managed a small smile, "Thanks dude."

"By the way, did you happen to write anything about another girl in your diary?" Cameron said, rubbing a hand over his chin. "I think you know her, tall, black hair, one year above us, Japa – OW!" Cameron doubled over to protect his stomach where Ulrich had punched him, falling back a little bit to get away from any further attacks.

"For the last time, I did not have a nose job!"

Ulrich, Cameron, and Jeremie looked over to where Odd was distracting Sissi, and glanced back at each other. Then Ulrich sighed.

"Well, I guess that if this is going to work, I have to stick in Sissi's limited good grace. Tell Yumi fast, okay?" Walking over to where Odd had just been slapped for asking another question about Sissi's nose, Ulrich called, "leave her alone Odd."

Odd walked to Cameron and Jeremie, rubbing his red cheek, a question forming on his lips when Cameron cut it off, "I'll explain on the bus, we're gonna miss it if we wait any longer." Turning to Jeremie, he continued, "Tell Yumi as soon as possible, I doubt that Ulrich can retain his sanity if he stays that close to Sissi for much longer."

Jeremie nodded, and then ran off, pulling out his phone as he went up the stairs.

Odd was very confused, "Mind telling me what's going on?" He asked.

As they walked towards the bus to the pool, Cameron explained from the beginning. "Do you remember Ulrich looking through your room this morning?" At Odd's nod, he continued, "Apparently, he was looking for his diary. Turns out, Sissi went through your room at some point and stole it, and now it looks like she's blackmailing him into hanging out with her. Basically, he doesn't do what she wants, and his life is printed on the front page of the Kadic news."

Odd pounded a fist into his open palm. "So that's what Jeremie is going to tell Yumi about? You know that she's going to hit something, right?"

Cameron nodded, "that's why I told Jeremie to be the one to inform her. I've already been punched today, and I know from experience that Yumi hits harder than Ulrich."

()()()()

As they were sitting down on the bus, Cameron caught a glance from Ulrich and shook his head. Ulrich groaned and sat heavily in the seat next to Sissi, doing the best he could to ignore her, which was not easy.

Cameron snapped a quick picture when Sissi's head fell off of Ulrich's shoulder from him jerking away from her – it would make a great yearbook photo – and stowed the camera before Jim came by and took it away.

Anticipating Ulrich's eventual freedom, Cameron had left the seat next to Odd open, and sat in the row behind him, opening his phone and texting Jeremie and Yumi for an update. Jeremie replied saying he didn't know how Yumi was managing, but his text from Yumi told him that she was almost done in Sissi's room, with no success. He decided not to tell Ulrich, the poor boy had to deal with enough right now.

()()()()

A few minutes into the bus ride, Cameron noticed Sissi stiffen with a phone pressed to her ear. He tapped Odd on the shoulder over the back of the seat and pointed it out. Odd moved his bag off of the empty seat next to him, they could tell that something had gone wrong in Sissi's otherwise perfect day, and that it had gone very, very, wrong indeed.

A few moments later, they were proven right as Ulrich slid into the seat saved for him by Odd, high-fiving them and throwing a triumphant look at Sissi as the depressed girl nearly slapped Herve.

"See Sissi, isn't it good to have real friends?" Ulrich said, causing the girl in question to cross her arms and look out the window.

A few minutes after that, Cameron shut his book as he was slammed against the seat as the bus suddenly accelerated. Peeling himself away from the leather, he swung his legs off of the seat next to him and buckled his seat belt. He felt like it was going to be a bumpy ride.

As everyone on the bus started screaming, Ulrich, Odd, and Cameron looked at each other and made their way to the front of the bus. The driver was desperately trying to slow the bus down, with no success.

"what's going on?" Ulrich demanded.

"I wish I knew kid, whatever it is, it's totally sent the bus out of control!"

Ulrich thought for a moment, then, "Wasn't it fine up until you recharged the battery?"

"Well yeah, everything was fine. But I can't do anything anymore." The driver replied, not touching the electrified wheel.

As the group made their way past Jim and back to their seats, Ulrich pulled out his phone and dialed a number. "Jeremie, you there?"

Apparently, the boy was at the other end of the line, because Ulrich continued. "Xana's in control of our bus, the driver can't do anything. Have you found the tower?"

Cameron shot a confused look at Odd, who pulled him a little away from Ulrich.

"Okay, how can I explain this. Xana is a super-powerful and super-dangerous computer virus who inhabits a virtual world called Lyoko, inside of a super-computer in the old factory on the waterfront. It activates towers to attack our world, and then we have to go to Lyoko to shut them down. Are you with me so far?"

Cameron was confused, but processing the information quickly and getting a hold of it. "So if it's so dangerous, why haven't you shut it down?"

Odd hesitated, and then pushed Cameron into a nearby seat, "Well, we can't because a um, friend of ours is stuck on Lyoko, and she can't leave right now. Jeremie is working on a program to bring her to Earth, but it's going to take time. She's also the only one who can shut down the towers, so Xana uses monsters that he creates to try to destroy her."

Cameron nodded – it made sense – but then he asked the question that Odd was dreading, "Does your friend have a name?"

Odd hesitated again, debating whether to lie, and then decided not to – Cameron could tell when somebody lied as if he were reading their minds. "She's- Her name is- umm, her name is Aelita."

Cameron froze, his mind whirling in sudden confusion and doubt. He blinked once, then twice, before slowly responding.

"Did, did I hear you correctly? Did you say that," he paused, "Did you say that Aelita is stuck on a virtual world, where pretty much anything that moves that isn't you guys wants to kill her?"

Odd took a step back, "Umm, yes, but Jeremie doesn't think that it's Aelita Hopper, because if she were, then she'd be human, and if she were human, he could materialize without any trouble."

Suddenly Cameron was on his feet, grabbing the front of Odd's shirt and practically yelling, "and why does Jeremie not _know _that they're the same person? Do they look different? Does she have any memory?" Cameron's anger left him in a rush, leaving a strange exhaustion, and he let go of Odd. Sitting back down and putting his head in his hands, he continued. "What is she like?"

Odd took another few steps back, in case Cameron's rage came back at his next few words, "I'm sorry, but I have to go, or else Aelita will be there alone. I'll tell you everything if we win, don't worry."

Ulrich glanced over and called, "What's wrong with him?"

Odd only needed to words to make Ulrich's eyes go wide with understanding, "He knows."

Ulrich's first reaction was shock, then annoyance, and then concern for Cameron, when he recalled Jeremie's warnings against telling Cameron about Lyoko,

_"Telling him would make him vulnerable, with everything he thinks he knows stripped of him. He would be wrecked."_

Ulrich's eyes narrowed, and he nearly told Odd that he should have kept his mouth shut, but then realized that it was his fault for calling Jeremie and mentioning anything to do with Lyoko with Cameron right next to him. Silently, he cursed, and then his attention was brought back to the present as Odd walked past him towards the front of the bus, and jumped out the door as soon as he had it open, before Jim could haul him back. He looked at Cameron, but then Jeremie yelled at him that Xana was sending them straight at the Petro-Chemical Plant. He gave Jim the news, and handed Sissi his phone to relay anything Jeremie said to him.

Laying a hand on Cameron's shoulder, Ulrich spoke softly, "how much did Odd tell you?"

Cameron didn't look at him, "Is the Aelita on Lyoko like the Aelita in my pictures?"

Ulrich started to curse Odd for telling him Aelita's actual name, then dismissed the thought, he didn't know anyone who could lie to Cameron and be believed. He sat down next to Cameron and answered the boy's question, "She looks like her, but we don't know what your Aelita acted or sounded like, so I can't really say for sure. Did Odd tell you about the materialization? No, don't answer that, of course he did." Ulrich shook his head, again recalling what Jeremie had said regarding telling Cameron about Lyoko – it looked like he had been spot on with his predictions – and sighed, "I'd say we'd tell you everything when we get back to school, but I don't know if we will."

Cameron looked hard at him, "What, no 'sorry for keeping secrets from you?' I thought that you guys trusted me."

Ulrich was about to respond when Sissi yelled, "He says we're going to turn left!"

Ulrich stood quickly, "everyone get over here!" Then he looked back at Cameron, "I am sorry, but right now there are bigger things to worry about."

As the bus screeched around the corner, there were more screams, and then a few people were violently sick. Jim looked around, "maybe we should jump out the windows. At least we won't hit the Petro-Chemical plant."

Sissi was shaking her head before he finished, "we would never survive the impact at that speed."

Cameron also spoke up, "Besides, all we would do is lighten the bus and make it hit the plant faster. We would buy about a minute or so of life even if we did survive the fall, and then we'd either die or be mutated by chemical exposure. No, we need to do exactly as we are doing, keep from being smashed into the walls as best we can."

Ulrich took his phone from Sissi, "Jeremie, how are things on Lyoko?"

Cameron looked sharply at him, hearing the word "Lyoko".

Apparently things weren't going excessively well, because a frown flitted across Ulrich's features, "Alright, we'll wait a while longer. How much time do we have?"

Another frown, "okay, tell those two to hurry up will you? Odd's on his way."

Ulrich looked over to where Cameron's eyebrow was raised, "We've got ten minutes to the plant," a piercing wail filled the air, causing Ulrich to look back, "and a police car on our tail."

Cameron's eyebrow was still up, "What. Is. Going. On. With. Lyoko." Every word was laced with annoyance at their helplessness for their current situation, as well as annoyance with the group in general.

"Can you get over it already?" Ulrich asked, "Yumi and Aelita are doing what they can, and Odd will nearly be there by now."

Cameron was – not surprisingly – unrelieved by the idea that their lives might rest in Odd's ability on Lyoko, he found it hard to fathom that Odd took anything seriously, especially when it took place on a giant video game world.

After a few minutes, Ulrich nodded to Jim, who – frightened – retrieved a hammer from next to the window and used it to smash the glass. Unfortunately, the bus swerved so that Cameron and Ulrich were desperately trying to keep their Gym teacher from falling fully out of the broken window and into the path of speeding police cars.

"what's the matter Jim? I thought you liked this bus!" Cameron yelled over the sound of air rushing past. Together, they managed to pull Jim back into the bus just before they smashed through the gate leading into the facility.

"It's too late for us Jeremie." Ulrich said into his phone.

Everyone on the bus looked forward to the giant metal sphere that held most of the chemical waste the plant had left over from reactions, and Cameron closed his eyes, not wanting to see the end when it happened.

_Figures. Ten years, and when I find out they might be alive, I'm hurtling towards my death at the hands of some virus. Aelita, Franz, Goodbye._

When the screaming stopped, Cameron cracked one eye open and saw the framework holding the sphere up about two feet in front of the bus. Some students fainted, some cheered, but as for Cameron, he just slumped into the nearest seat and put his head in his hands, thanking whatever gods looked after Lyoko for making sure Xana was stopped.

A flash of light, and then everything went dark.

()()()()

As Cameron was headed to breakfast, he saw Yumi run up to Ulrich with what looked like a book of some kind. Handing it to him, she said something, to which he replied, but Cameron was too far away to hear what. Ulrich took a hesitant step towards her, then paused and ran into the dorms.

Cameron raised an eyebrow and smiled, _those two, crazy about each other to the point where they blind themselves to the other's feelings. They make Odd look sane._

**End of Chapter Six**

**Did you like it? Hate it? Does it need to be completely redone? Please give me your honest opinion on it, no matter what it may be!**


	7. Big Bug

Chapter Seven

Big Bug

Cameron was putting the finishing touches on the exterior of the wasp when he looked up and out of the window, to where Milly and Tamiya were watching Ulrich approach. He could see Sissi walk up behind them, and then they turned to her until Ulrich, Odd, and Yumi approached, at which point they turned to the nicer of the two groups. Cameron smiled, he had a feeling that Sissi was about to get metaphorically slapped in the face, big time. As she and the two idiots who followed her around left the other five, Cameron smiled, and put down his screwdriver, he felt like it was time to play a little piano.

Cameron looked up as the door opened, nodded to Yumi as she walked in, and then bent back down over his keyboard, his headphones on and relaying the notes he was playing to him. As he finished and took his headphones off, he heard Yumi ask Jeremie a question.

"Jeremie, do you, do you think that Ulrich likes Sissi?"

Both Yumi and Jeremie were startled by Cameron's sudden fit of laughter, as he literally rolled off of his bed and onto the floor, holding his stomach. When he had finished, his eyes were watering, so he took a moment to dry them before putting the older girl's heart at ease.

"Yumi, I think that Ulrich is like me, and rates Sissi somewhere down there with slugs and sea sponges. You're not jealous, are you?" Cameron fell into another fit of uncontrollable laughter, and was unable to fully hear and understand Yumi's reply. His laughter was cut short however, when Odd opened the door.

"OUCH! Hey Odd, have you ever heard of knocking?" Cameron snarled, standing and holding the top of his head.

"Oh, sorry Cameron, I didn't realize you were so close to the door." Then Cameron's injury seemed to finally reach Odd's notice, "Umm, why _were _you lying down in front of the door?"

Cameron glanced at Yumi and chuckled again before answering, "Oh, Yumi was being jealous of Sissi for a moment, and I was laughing at her. I guess that's karma for you, or rather, for me. Anyway, how can we help you?"

Odd then remembered why he had come in the first place, "Oh, right. Ulrich and I are going to play a little prank on Sissi, do you want to come?"

Cameron raised an eyebrow, "Does this 'prank' have anything to do with you holding Kiwi's leash? Actually, never mind, it doesn't matter. You can fill me in on the way, as long as I can get my shoes first."

"Alright, we'll be right outside."

()()()()

A few minutes later, the trio was standing behind a bush outside of the garden shed, having placed Kiwi and sent Sissi the bait, when Ulrich's phone vibrated.

"Oh no! Yumi's trying to reach me, we should shut our phones off so they don't give us away."

"Got it." The other two boys said, reaching for their own mobiles.

Almost as soon as the phones were turned off, they saw Sissi approaching the shed, and ducked further behind the bush, so that they could hear and see without being seen.

"All alone at last my dear Ulrich!" Cameron smiled as he saw Ulrich shudder at Sissi's words, then, "AAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"

The boys burst out laughing as they stepped out and saw the look on Sissi's face.

"Wow, you really must be irresistible Sissi," Ulrich laughed, "Not even a dog could resist your charms!"

Cameron was doubled over laughing for the second time that day, "No, stop it, stop it, I can't take any more!"

"Hey, at least it's a step up from Herve and Nicolas, there's no way they're a match for Kiwi!" Odd laughed as well, patting his knees, "Sorry to drag you away Kiwi."

Sissi was recovering from the shock, "You'll pay for this!"

"That's fine," Odd said, "You can just send us the bill as soon as you're dry. Ciao"

Cameron heard Sissi muttering under her breath as they walked away, and felt a deep sense of unease sweep through him.

"We should have brought a camera," he said, dismissing the feeling, "I can just see it on Page One of the Kadic news; Sissi and Kiwi, an impossible romance."

"Go on home now Kiwi, good boy." Odd said, pointing back towards the dorms.

Cameron checked his watch, "Well guys, this was fun, but I have to head back if I'm going to get all the assigned work done. See you." With that, he wandered back to his room.

()()()()

When he got there, he noticed a news report sitting open on Jeremie's computer. Puzzled, he sat down in the empty chair and turned the volume up.

"The country is in gridlock, as an unknown computer virus sweeps across it, knocking out communications, banking, all of the subway systems, and air traffic control as it goes. The most immediate threat however, is two freight trains – one loaded with hazardous and toxic chemicals – are on a collision course. The two trains are completely automatic, and so are completely unstoppable at this time."

Cameron turned the volume down so that it was indecipherable, and went over to his bed. He heard a good saying once; "If you can't change something, there's no point in worrying about it." He couldn't remember who he had heard it from, but it seemed to fit this scenario like a glove. However, he was no longer in the mood to do any schoolwork. Instead, he stood up, grabbed his jacket, and went for a walk.

He didn't have any particular destination in mind, but his feet led him to the office building, and then to the archives room. He recalled Franz's note saying that there was something for him in his old file, but it hadn't said what. Now, as he perused the cabinets, looking for one labeled HOPPER, he wondered what it might be. More designs, maybe? Something to do with the Men in Black, or the Hermitage? As Cameron found the right cabinet, he hesitated, and then pulled it open.

Leafing through the old folders, he came to the back and found a thick, old-fashioned envelope, with his name on one side. Opening it, he saw another note for him, written in Franz Hopper's handwriting.

_Hello again Cameron._

_I assume that you're reading this because you got my note in the Hermitage, along with the keys and the box of pictures, as well as Mr. Edhel._

_Now then, enclosed within this envelope are a few different things, all of which I hope you will enjoy seeing, and learning about._

_This note will not be very long, and I'm sorry for that, but I can't think of anything to say that isn't in my letter from the Hermitage. If you haven't read that one, go back and look under Aelita's sheets. You will find what you need there._

_Franz Hopper_

Cameron raised an eyebrow, it _was _a brief note. Judging by the size and weight of the envelope though, the contents were undisturbed, and varied. Quickly, he tucked the note back into the envelope, put the entire thing into a pocket on his jacket, and returned to the dorms.

When he got back to his room, he locked the door, took a seat in his rolling chair, and pulled the envelope back out, opening it and setting its contents on his desk. Sifting through the contents, he quickly had all of it organized, and was reading the first sheet of paper, when his eyebrows shot up.

There was a lot of technical gibberish, but it was the first sentence and the last few words that were important.

_The Property of the Hermitage belongs to the undersigned in accordance to the following agreements._

The "following agreements" took up most of the page, and Cameron skipped to the bottom, where the signatures were.

Property Owner: _Charles D. Hendricks _Agent: _Dominick H. Smith_

Property Buyer: _Franz W. Hopper _Agent: _Norman C. Johnson_

Cameron's eyebrows fell after a few moments, his hopes falling, the deed was signed to Franz W. Hopper, not Cameron . . . whatever his original last name was. He thought for a moment, He _did _usually enroll at schools using Hopper as his last name – it was his registered name here at Kadic – but that didn't mean that the deed to the Hermitage made the Hermitage his, especially since there was no will to leave it to him.

He opened the next paper, and his heart lifted again, this time tinged with a shadow of sadness.

_Last will and testament of Franz W. Hopper_

A lump rose in Cameron's throat and he blinked tears back as he read on, the paper was short, but it made him feel loved.

_I leave all of my earthly possessions to my adoptive son, Cameron Smith Jones, including the property of the Hermitage, as well as any items housed within, to do with as he so desires._

_– Franz W. Hopper_

_Jones, huh? so that's my last name. _Cameron pursed his lips thoughtfully, _I think that I'll stick with Hopper, it's nice to know my actual last name, but I've gone by Hopper for too long to change it now._

A beeping from Jeremie's computer caught Cameron's attention as he looked up from the paper, and he pushed his chair over to take a look. Another news report was on – this one delivering an update on the trains. Cameron picked up the headpiece lying on Jeremie's keyboard, and unmuted the sound.

_"minutes from the collision of the two freight trains, authorities have commenced an evacuation of the local area,"_

Cameron sighed and took the headpiece off – he really didn't feel like listening to Mrs. Doomsday reporter right now. _Besides, _he thought, _There's nothing I can do to change what's happening. If the trains crash, and everyone in the area is killed, along with me, then that's too bad, but there's no point in worrying about what I can't change. _A shrill scream from the floor above him told him that either Sissi couldn't find her hairbrush, or she had seen the news as well. He wheeled his chair back over to his desk, and picked up the last piece of paper, attached to the bottom of Franz's will.

_Cameron,_

_I do hope that you're reading this, and that you like my second and last gift to you. The third gift, assuming you found the robot designs under my bed. If you haven't, go and check my room at the Hermitage when you get the chance. I hope that building those robots will bring you as much enjoyment as building them brought me. I also hope that you're doing well at Kadic, that you've made some friends – a small group of people who you enjoy hanging around with would be plenty, I always hated being in the spotlight – and that your grades are good. If they aren't, work harder._

Cameron laughed softly, according to what he remembered of Franz, that was his version of humor. He hadn't gotten out much.

_Finally, I hope you've found some success with a love life, girls – or boys, it's all up to you – can be challenging to talk to if you care about them, especially if they always seem to be in a group of their friends. Oh I wish we could talk to each other, face to face. I'm sure that we could have a good laugh at some of each other's blunders._

_I'm sorry, but this is the last note you will be receiving from either me or Aelita, unless she's slipped another one in for you somewhere, which I wouldn't put past her._

_Live a good life, don't let yourself have regrets, and carry on with your chin up._

_Goodbye, and Good luck son, Franz Hopper._

Cameron blinked in surprise, whatever he had been expecting, it hadn't been that. He tapped the note to his chin, and then read it again, smiling. His smile faded as Jeremie's computer beeped – again – calling his attention to it. He groaned in exasperation.

"Jeremie, why did you make your computer beep every five minutes just because there's about to be a major catastrophe?" He said to himself, again wheeling his chair over to the other desk. Sighing, he opened up the new video file, that had a live image of the two trains barreling towards each other, with the idiotic reporter still standing there talking into his microphone. Cameron sighed again, _figures, I find out that the Hermitage actually belongs to me, that Franz considers me to be his son, and that Aelita may or may not have left another note for me, and I do it on doomsday. Nice going Cameron._

He stared at Jeremie's computer screen as the trains came closer and closer to each other, only to screech to a halt just moments away from impact. He let his breath out in a whoosh, and then hit the exit button on the keyboard. He was surprised when instead of exiting the news report, a new screen opened up on the computer. He glanced down and saw that he had hit the wrong key by accident. He prepared to close the report and re-minimize the second screen when he noticed that it had flashed and changed.

"Huh? You're not Jeremie! What are you doing at his computer?" A feminine voice said.

Cameron looked up and nearly jumped out of his skin and across the room. "what the?! B-b-but, how can you? What's going on here?" He took a closer look at the girl on the screen. "Ae-Aelita? Is that you? Why are you trying to contact Jeremie?"

Aelita – if it really was her – ignored him until she heard her name, and then her eyes went wide.

"How, how do you know my name?" She asked, and then seemed to focus her attention elsewhere, possibly somewhere else on whatever screen she was using. "Jeremie, there's someone in your room who seems to know me. Have you launched the return to the past?"

Jeremie's voice emanated from the speakers, "I'm doing it now Aelita – wait, did you say someone's at my computer? Uh-oh," Jeremie's voice paused, as if he was cringing, "uh, Cameron? Is that you?"

Cameron was too distracted by looking at the girl in front of him to answer for a moment, and then his attention snapped back. "Yeah Jeremie, it's me. Explain. Now."

In answer, instead of an explanation, came five words, "Return to the past now!"

()()()()

The group watched from behind a bush as Sissi walked towards the garden shed, Odd and Cameron each holding a camera. As Sissi was tackled by Herve, who then tried to kiss her, they each took a picture of the pair.

As they ducked back behind the bush, the pictures came out, and Cameron and Odd passed them around.

"Looks like Milly and Tamiya are getting a real scoop this time, three guesses who's going to make the front page of the next addition of the Kadic news!" Ulrich said, laughing.

They all turned back towards the shed at the sound of a massive slap, and Sissi crying, "Just keep dreaming you creep! Wait until I tell my father about this!"

Cameron laughed, "Aw, that's too bad."

"Yeah," Yumi said, "I feel that we just saw the beginning and end of a beautiful romance!"

End of Chapter Seven

**Did you guys like it? Does it need improvement? Was it just plain awful? Please review and tell me what you thought.**

**Okay, I admit, it may be a little unoriginal to use the deed of the Hermitage, I'm pretty sure that there are a lot of fan fictions out there where Aelita gets it, or where one of the gang buys it, but I felt like giving it to Cameron, so if you think that it was a bad idea . . . well, sorry.**

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	8. Cruel Dilemma

Chapter Eight

Cruel Dilemma

Odd suppressed a yawn as the Principal droned on about the new stadium they were going to have and how it was his responsibility it was right, or something like that. Cameron had tuned out a minute or two into the speech and was mentally mapping out a new set of video glasses to improve the visual he recieved from his drones. He would probably have to talk to Jeremie about it though, and seeing how busy Einstein was with his own robots, Cameron wasn't sure that it would be an easy task. His thoughts wandered farther afield, towards that park and the Hermitage. He smiled, it was nice having a house to himself, but even with him cleaning it out every once in a while, there was still a long ways to go before it was livable again. He would need to get it hooked back into the city's power grid for starters, and figure out a way to get the water systems back online. The second one would be easier – he was good with his hands, not quite as good as hacking into a citywide mainframe. After those were finished, he would need to get the different rooms a bit cleaner, he wasn't sure why, but he hadn't gotten around to actually tidying the house up. Maybe it was because it felt somewhat like a memorial, and disturbing it would also disturb its residents.

"Do we have to sit here and listen to this?" Odd asked, bringing Cameron out of his reverie.

"No, you could have stayed behind with Jeremie." Ulrich said.

"By the way, what is he up to nowadays?" Yumi asked.

It took Cameron a moment to realize that she was talking to him. "Oh, the usual stuff, dealing with tiny little details with his robots, things like that. They sure do take up a lot of his time." He said, waving a hand dismissively.

Sissi turned around and shushed them, "My father is talking, so if you don't shut up, there will be consequences!"

Cameron and the rest of the gang laughed, "Consequences, really Sissi? You're too crazy about Ulrich and me to get us in trouble. As for Yumi and Odd, well, they aren't talking, so they can't get in trouble." Cameron smiled at her triumphantly, "Besides, we still have those pictures of you and Herve together outside the garden shed. You wouldn't want those to fall into Milly and Tamiya's hands now, would you?"

Sissi went white and then red at the idea of the junior reporters having the embarrassing pictures and turned around for the end of her father's speech, as Cameron suppressed a yawn of his own.

"Okay, I'm really bored now, can't he let us go play soccer or something? Sort of a farewell to the current field."

"That's a good idea Cameron! One last thrashing of Sissi's team would really be a good way to send the field off. We should talk to Jim about refereeing." Ulrich said, already feeling good about another sure victory. Herve and Nicolas were the best players on Sissi's team, and they weren't exactly . . . talented.

Principal Delmas finally finished his speech and released them, finally allowing the gang to plot more openly.

"Okay, so the new stadium is going to start being built in three days. Yumi, you talk to Jim about being ref for the day after tomorrow. Odd, you go to Einstein and see if you can get some flyers printed off to advertise the game. See whose interested in playing, and get a crowd to watch. Ulrich, you and I are going to go have a little chat with Sissi, see if we can goad her into playing against us." Cameron laid out a plan of action like a general, and the group nodded and split off to do their separate tasks.

"Alright, let's go talk to Sissi. Hey, where'd she go?" Ulrich asked, looking around.

Cameron scanned the area, shading his eyes with a hand. "There she is, heading over to the dorms. If we hurry we can catch her before she makes her room."

"Alright, let's go."

A few minutes later, the boys caught up to the Principal's daughter just before she reached the stairs up to the rooms.

"Hey Sissi, can we talk to you for a second?" Cameron asked, as Ulrich put his hands on his knees and sucked in air. They had run hard to catch the girl and her followers.

"Why sure you can. Is it about me, or are you hatching a plan?" Sissi folded her arms and raised an eyebrow, "I'm not stupid, I saw you guys talking right before I left. What do you want?"

Ulrich had regained his breath, and straightened up, "We're planning a final game on the old field, day after tomorrow, before the new stadium is set up. Interested?"

Sissi snorted, "What, in watching as you three beat my team again? Not a chance."

Cameron quickly interjected, "But that's just it, it won't be just us. Odd is going to be putting flyers up around the school, and Yumi's talking to Jim about calling the game. All we need now is permission from the Principal, which will be easier if you're the one to ask him."

Sissi thought for a moment, "Okay, you've got a deal." Rounding on Herve and Nicolas, she said, "If you two screw this up in front of the whole school and with an actual team, then you can consider yourselves not my fans anymore!"

As the trio walked away, Cameron and Ulrich high-fived, and then Ulrich got a call from Odd.

Answering it, he said, "Yeah? Wait, you're sure? Alright, I'll get Yumi." He hung up, "Sorry Cameron, I've got to – Cameron? Where'd you go?"

Cameron was actually at the vending machines, ordering up a hot chocolate, before heading to the Hermitage to implement his first phase of making the abandoned house into a home again. He knew it would take a while, but he wasn't sure exactly how long. What he didn't have the faintest idea about however, was that Sissi had decided to follow him around, to see where he always vanished off to whenever he disappeared. She was sure there was a girl behind it, but she wanted to see who it really was.

Cameron took his time with his drink, enjoying it, since there was really no strict schedule to what he was planning for his day. On the other hand, he _was _eager to get started, and it was past noon, so he drained his cup and headed for the park.

Walking along the familiar trails always gave Cameron a sense of peace, like he was going home – which he supposed he was. A sudden rustle from the side of the trail caused him to whirl and drop into a fighting stance. He wasn't the best fighter – most of his time at Pencak Silat training with Ulrich and Yumi he felt like a punching bag – but he hoped that whoever was following him didn't know that. Another rustle as he approached the trail side, and then a small rabbit hopped out of the brush, letting him relax his stance and let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding.

He completed his trek to the Hermitage and went inside, not realizing that he had left the door open as he did so.

"What is this place? Why are you here? There's a girl behind this isn't there!"

Cameron turned at the sound of Sissi's voice, too angry at her having followed him to even speak. Instead, he did the natural thing, shoving her out the door and slamming it in her face.

"Cameron, this old house won't have a working lock, and you can't stay shoved up against this door forever!" Sissi shouted, hammering on the door with her fist.

She was answered by the sound of a key turning in the lock, and then Cameron appearing in a top-floor window a few moments later, waving the door key he had found in the kitchen months ago.

"You were saying Sissi?" He gloated.

The Principals daughter was outraged by his attitude, "You still haven't answered my questions!"

Cameron's eyes narrowed, "I don't really have to tell you, but I guess I will anyway, if only to make you go away." When he realized that Sissi was edging around towards the side yard, he continued, "The back door is also locked, so you can forget about getting in that way." He smiled at the girl's shriek of annoyance.

"Well then, answer me from there!" She shouted up, stamping her foot.

Cameron thought this over a moment, rubbing a hand over his chin. "Why should I? We aren't exactly friends, and you did stalk me here."

"I'm the Principal's daughter!"

"Look around you, are we on school grounds? Because from here, it doesn't look like it." Cameron said, enjoying the different shades of red that Sissi's face was turning. "Wow, you really are annoyed, aren't you?"

"I can back out of that soccer game!"

"I can talk to Delmas myself. I said it would be quicker with you, I didn't say it wouldn't be possible without you."

Sissi sighed, and relaxed. She knew he was right, and that away from school, Cameron held all of the cards. In a calm voice, she spoke again.

"Okay then, will you answer my questions?"

Cameron smiled, "Sure, why not? This place is the Hermitage, but I just call it 'my house' or 'home'."

Sissi looked up at him, "What? But it looks so deserted and old, not to mention kind of depressing."

Cameron conceded to himself that the Hermitage didn't look like much of a home at the moment – he was leaning out of Aelita's destroyed window for pity's sake. "Well, it was my home at one point. And as of two days ago, when I found the deed along with my father's will, leaving it to me, it's my house."

Sissi was startled by the revelation that Cameron had gotten his own house the same day that his group humiliated her, and caught it on camera. "Okay, what about my other questions?"

"As to why I'm here, I should be asking that of you. I'm here because it's my house and I'm working on making it livable again. I would ask why you're here, but I get the feeling that you followed me because you thought there was a girl here I was meeting with. Oh you can forget trying to look innocent, you said that the moment you came in behind me," Cameron's voice rose to imitate Sissi, "What is this place? Why are you here? There's a girl behind this isn't there!" His voice dropped back down, "The way I see it Sissi, there are three options here. The first is easiest, you turn around and go back to the school, and never come back here without an invitation. Number two is that I come down there and carry you off of my property like a sack of potatoes, and option number three is that I call the cops and they take you back to explain to your dad about how you were trespassing on private property. Oh, and don't think about coming back when I'm not here, because from now on, there will be a camera to keep an eye on things while I'm away, as well as a locked gate to get around. Now then, which door will you take?"

Sissi was speechless for a moment, and then she blew here hair back with a huff, turned, and walked out.

Cameron smiled to himself, and then frowned; he was really going to have to pay more attention if Sissi had been able to follow him. Next thing he knew, Milly and Tamiya would stalk him here and then the whole school would know. He shrugged; Milly and Tamiya knew better than to post something about him without his permission – at least he hoped so. He turned and headed back downstairs, he wanted to get the water running before he left today.

Two hours later, Cameron sat down and let out a heavy sigh, it was starting to get dark and he had just managed to get the water flowing again. He was soaked from the waist up, and then back down again, which – while it felt good with the hot air – was starting to make his clothes feel uncomfortable. He stood and turned the hose spout off from where it was spraying water everywhere – he would have to get a new faucet somewhere before it was really worth it. Heading back inside, he retrieved his jacket, as well as his socks and shoes – glad that at least he would have a few dry things.

When he got back to Kadic, the first thing he did was head to his room for a towel, and to get his wet clothes off. The second thing he did was head to the bathroom with a robe to take a long, hot, shower – he'd had to clean out the water filters to the entire house before he could get the water running again, which was messy, to put it lightly. By the time he was done, it was dark, and he was looking forward to a good night's sleep.

()()()()

Cameron's eyes snapped open when he heard Jeremie get up – the boy had already been in bed when he got back, so he'd seem no reason to bother with his usual earplugs – and quickly closed them again once Jeremie had his glasses on. He couldn't explain it, but he felt like something was happening that Jeremie didn't want anyone to know about. He opened them again when he heard the door close, and Jeremie speaking loudly across the hall, something about Xanalert? What was that, a secret robot that the rest of the gang had been hiding from him? Whatever it was, it was driven from his mind as a bright beam of light cut through the windows, and he quietly but quickly got out of his bed to go look.

He was either sleepy, or there were some weird things going on in the courtyard, because it looked like someone had taken the Bulldozers from that morning on a joyride at – Cameron glanced at the clock – midnight and then some. He heard running in the hall, and then threw open a window, grabbing his drone glasses and the wasp's remote as he quickly dressed and got his running shoes on – he didn't want to lose them because he was in cowboy boots.

As he exited the dorm building, it became apparent that the new nighttime modifications he'd added to the Wasp were not going to be necessary – and neither would the wasp. As he looked around, there was nothing out of place for a few hundred yards, but then there was a trail of destruction through the woods going into town. He put the glasses on and whipped out his remote, starting to run even as he began piloting his lovely multipurpose drone through the open window and out into the night. By the time he had reached the park, he had mastered – mostly – the art of running and remotely controlling a robot of mass awesomeness, and the Wasp was ahead of him. He followed the Bulldozers trail into town, maneuvering the Wasp to keep on them as they left the park so he'd know where to go.

As he burst out of the trees and onto the waterfront, he turned left and ran towards the bridge leading to an abandoned factory, where there were lights shining out of the roof. He smiled to himself, bringing the wasp in and setting it down in a corner made by the bridge and factory, it had done its part masterfully, but now he could see just fine where the bulldozers were, as well as Ulrich lying limply in the cockpit of one that was backing up from a support beam. Without hesitation, he grabbed a rope hanging from the ceiling and came down on top of the machine, sliding in through the broken windshield. Ulrich was out cold, and not exactly light, so maneuvering him out of the dozer was going to be difficult. Cameron looked up and braced himself against the control panel just before they hit another pillar – there was clearly some plan to destroy the factory that he was missing out on, but right then he was more worried about his unconscious friend.

Reeling from the impact, but not badly hurt, Cameron pulled Ulrich so that he was leaning on the panel Cameron had just used for an airbag – it hadn't worked great, but he was still functional, so whatever – and pushed the boy out onto the small hood of the Bulldozer, jumping out himself was simple, jumping off a rapidly moving machine with about a hundred and fifty pounds of deadweight on his shoulders . . . not so much. Especially considering that he only had a hundred and thirty pounds of muscle at his disposal.

Coughing to clear his lungs of the dust kicked up by wanton destruction, Cameron began dragging Ulrich away from the mess of the factory and was pulling him into an unused freight elevator when Yumi came down the same rope he'd used.

"Cameron? Are you here?" Yumi stepped into the elevator with him and Ulrich, "I saw your robot outside, what are you doing here? Oh no!" She had seen Ulrich slumped up against a wall as she punched the operation button to get the box moving. Cameron raised an eyebrow, apparently the elevator was not so unused after all.

"I might ask you the same thing Yumi. Along with another question, what is a Xanalert?"

"A what? Oh, uh," Yumi bent over, catching her breath, "I'll let Jeremie explain when we get there, until then, just trust us hmm?"

"Oh, okay. You're saying that I should trust the people who have obviously been keeping secrets from me for a while now, while at the same time claiming to be my friends." Cameron crossed his arms, "I'll let you think that over for a moment, shall I?" The doors opened, and Cameron hoisted Ulrich over his shoulders, "I'll make sure he's alright, and then the questions are going to start."

Jeremie was typing at a massive computer, not noticing that it was Cameron carrying Ulrich and not Yumi. "Oh good, you're here, they need you on Lyoko. Set him down and then get to the scanner room so I can send you . . ." Jeremie trailed off as he realized who was setting Ulrich down, as the elevator doors closed on Yumi, who was waving a bye-bye to Jeremie.

"Umm, hi Cameron." Jeremie asked once the Japanese girl had been virtualized, uncertain as to how the boy had found the factory. "So uh, how did you get here?"

Cameron looked annoyed, "Probably along the same route you did, definitely the same one Ulrich used. I just followed the trail of crushed trees until I got out of the park."

Jeremie was perplexed, "Okay, but how did you know to come here in particular?"

Cameron pulled the drone glasses out of his pocket, the glass lens was shattered, and the screen was cracked, but the framework was still intact, meaning that the wiring was probably alright. "Give me some credit Jeremie. I may not be an Einstein, but I have a very useful drone at my disposal, as well as two good ears. May I inquire as to what a Xanalert is?" Cameron's polite tone coupled with the iron-hard gaze he was directing at Jeremie told the computer genius just how pissed he was at the current moment, which was, VERY.

Jeremie turned back to the screens as Odd's voice emanated from the speakers, Einstein, Where's Yumi? Things are getting hot here! Oh, and do I hear Cameron?"

"Uh, Yumi's on her way, but she's a ways behind you. Try to not get de-virtualized before she reaches you."

Odd's sudden cry of pain and surprise made Jeremie sigh in exasperation, and turn back to Cameron. "Okay, it's not a Xanalert, but a Xana Alert, two words."

"Okay, who's Xana?"

The elevator doors hissed open, and Odd stepped out. "Jeremie, I saw Yumi in my futureflash. She's going to fall into the void!"

Jeremie touched his headpiece, "Yumi, did you get that?"

"I heard Jeremie."

The three of them turned at the sound of Ulrich getting up. "I'll go, I'm the only one left."

Cameron frowned, "What am I? Chopped liver?"

"But look at yourself Ulrich, there's no way that you can fight." Jeremie protested.

"Jeremie, send me in. Odd, help me to the scanners." Ulrich said, propping himself on the svelte boy as the headed to the elevator.

"I'm in Jeremie." The boys in the lab heard Ulrich say.

"Transfer Ulrich, Scanner Ulrich, Virtualization!"

The doors opened again, and Odd came back out, "Hi Cameron, Jeremie, it's your turn to explain."

The blonde at the computer was perplexed, "My turn? When did we start taking turns? When was yours?"

Odd chuckled, "Mine was during the Petro-Chemical plant fiasco, and according to Aelita, he saw her when the trains were going to collide. So that's the two of us. Since you're the only other one here, you get to explain."

Cameron was not amused, "What chemical plant fiasco? And when was there going to be a train collision?" Rounding on Odd, "and did you say Aelita?"

Jeremie and Odd glanced at each other, and Odd opened his mouth to speak, but Jeremie cut him off, "No Odd, we are not scanning him to save trouble in the future."

Odd shut his mouth, opening it again a moment later, "Well Jeremie? Are you going to answer him or not?"

Jeremie fidgeted, and then turned back to the computer, beginning to type, "Okay, so Yumi and Ulrich are currently on a virtual world called Lyoko, that's inhabited by two different things. One looks human, and the other, well, let's just say it doesn't. The human one looks like the Aelita in your pictures, except she's not, because if she were, she shouldn't need a special materialization program, I could bring her in like I do everyone else."

Cameron interrupted, "If you can bring people in, why don't you just – what was it? Materialize Yumi?"

Jeremie half glanced at Cameron before turning back to the computer, "It's not that simple. Materializing people takes time, and I'm working on it, but it's faster sending Ulrich in to fetch her."

Cameron studied the screens, "So you can send Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi wherever you want? Why didn't you just, I don't know, send Ulrich so he would land right next to her before she falls?"

Jeremie sighed, "Don't you think that if I could have, I would? The process is accurate, but only to a certain degree. Plus, Yumi is practically right next to an activated tower, and Xana prevents me from setting them down within a certain radius of them."

Cameron nodded, watching Ulrich's icon race towards Yumi's "Okay, makes sense. So this Xana thing activates a tower and attacks somehow, and Aelita goes in to deactivate it. Since you send these three to protect her, I'm assuming that there's something or multiple something's that Xana uses to stop her. I'm also guessing that Aelita is unable to fight, which is why she needs guards. On top of that, I take it that you all like her, and that you've become pretty close friends, because if you didn't care about her, then you'd just shut the computer down to kill Xana." Cameron paused, and then, "Oh no."

Yumi's signature had begun to fall just as Ulrich came to the hole she was in. The trio watched helplessly as she hit the blank space signifying the void and vanished. Cameron closed his eyes, "so what now? Yumi's just, gone?"

Jeremie was too stunned to respond, so Odd stepped in, his voice choked. "Yeah, she's gone. Once something goes into the digital void, there's no getting it back. This was supposed to be the day we brought Aelita in, and beat Xana, and then celebrated and shut down the computer. But now . . ." His voice trailed off.

Jeremie brought Ulrich in, and they listened as the elevator came up. Ulrich came back in, tears streaming down his cheeks, and fell against the wall, curling into a ball against the wall.

Aelita's voice echoed through the silence of the room, her video screen coming up on the computer. "There's a way to get her back, and Jeremie knows it."

Cameron's head snapped up at the sound of her voice, his eyes going wide.

"The materialization program, but it'll only work once." Jeremie said, already knowing what Aelita would say next, "We'd have to choose between Aelita and Yumi."

The room was silent again, save for the humming from the computer and the faint sound of rain coming through the factory roof.

Aelita spoke again, "Then choose Yumi. She's already a part of your world."

Jeremie nodded, his fingers starting to type. "First we'll have to track her down. This will only take a second."

Aelita noticed Cameron for the first time, "Umm, Jeremie, what about him? Shouldn't we do a . . ."

Jeremie shot her a look, and Aelita fell silent.

"Okay, I've got her. Materialize," his Jeremie's voice faltered, and then returned, "Yumi."

The four of them went to the elevators to meet the girl as she tumbled out of the scanners.

"What happened? Didn't I fall in?"

Since Ulrich was injured, Cameron and Odd reached down to help her up, Yumi's eyes going wide at the sight of Cameron. She looked at Jeremie, "Didn't you . . ."

She trailed off as Jeremie spoke, "Later."

As the five of them returned to the lab, there was a silence, broken by Cameron.

"Since Odd mentioned a couple of attacks before now, I take it that you have ways of ensuring nobody remembers, and that I'm going to forget this in a minute or two?"

Jeremie nodded, but didn't speak. He didn't want Cameron to do anything stupid. Yumi was exhausted and Ulrich hurt, and frankly, he had seen Cameron in action. He wasn't as good as either of the martial artists, but against Odd, he might as well be fighting a piece of paper. Or Herve.

As they came into the lab, Aelita smiled at Yumi, who looked at her apologetically, and then somewhat sadly. "Thank you Aelita."

Cameron spoke up again, "And now you guys do what exactly? How do you erase everybody's memories?"

The group grinned at Jeremie, who was just sitting down, and turning his chair to face them, one hand on the keyboard. "Well actually Cameron, we don't erase anyone's memory. We do something much more . . . interesting."

Cameron raised an eyebrow, and Jeremie hit a key, triggering a beam of light emanating from the holomap.

"Return to the past now!"

()()()()

Cameron took his place as center defender on the soccer field, in the final match before the old stadium was redone. Odd looked back from his position at right striker as Ulrich paced forward and set a foot on the ball as Milly's voice squeaked over from the stands, where she and Tamiya were recording the match for the Kadic news.

Cameron smiled to himself, and then called, "Hey Ulrich, if they don't get the ball, I'm gonna be pretty bored back here! Let me have at least some action, huh?"

Jim raised a hand and blew his whistle, signaling the start of the game.

End of Chapter Eight

**Hey guys! It's been a while since I updated, so here it is! I hope you don't hate it! You know what I'm gonna say here, but I'll make sure.**

**Did you love it? Hate it? Please review!**


	9. Image Problem

**Hello People!**

**I know I've been alerting Cameron to Lyoko for a bit now, So I'll be moving away from that for a bit. Don't worry if you like him finding out about it and the berating that the gang gets for keeping secrets, He'll be back at the factory in a while. Anyway, on with the Story!**

Chapter Nine

Image Problem

Cameron yawned and turned over to face the window. Sitting up and rubbing his eyes, he winced at the bright sunlight streaming in through the window, and he yawned again, this time stretching as he did so. As usual, he went to the bathroom for a shower and to brush his teeth, somewhat gently – meaning not as hard as usual – whacking Jeremie upside the head to wake him up from his comfy looking keyboard of a pillow.

As he got back, he noticed that Jeremie was looking somewhat hassled by Nicholas and Herve as he tried to make his own way to the showers. Strolling up behind Sissi's henchmen, he tapped them on the shoulders.

"Problem?"

The two boys stiffened and turned around slowly. Cameron smiled, pleased to see that his abilities in coming up behind people without being noticed hadn't diminished.

Herve began to stutter, "N-N-No problem at all Cameron. W-Why do you ask?"

Cameron tilted his head to one side, his eyes narrowing as he did so. "Well, you two have Jeremie backed into a corner, and don't appear to want to let him go no matter what. Seeing as he's my friend, that makes it my issue, and I wanted to know what was happening."

Herve's own eyes narrowed, "What makes you think that we don't just want to talk to him?"

Cameron smiled, but strangely, the sight was not reassuring to the geek and the moron. For some reason, Cameron in a bathrobe did not seem unthreatening. "It's nothing you said, but more along the lines of Nicholas' fist forming, and the fact that all of Jeremie's things are scattered a few feet away, meaning that someone knocked it all out of his hands. Since you two are the closest, and you have him in a corner, well, let's just say I put two and two together."

Nicholas took step forward, "What do you mean my fist?"

Cameron looked down slightly and raised an eyebrow and the fist in question coming up to punch him. Stepping to one side, he grabbed Nicholas's wrist and twisted it up behind his back, kicking Herve to the other side of the hall as he did so.

He pushed Nicolas harder against the wall, "Note that I did that without needing to drop the towel and toothbrush in my right hand. Imagine what might have happened if I had both hands free." Yanking Poliakoff's hand up so that his arm was twisted to the point of nearly dislocating the shoulder it was attached to, he continued. "Now then, are you going to tell me the problem or am I going to have to keep going until we all hear a pop?"

Nicolas decided it wasn't worth it. "Herve wanted to take Jeremie's work on the Italian project so he'd get a better grade. He said I could have Jeremie's notes if I helped out."

Cameron eased off a little, "Thank you for the information." He released the ginger and without turning, asked "Where are you going Herve?"

Herve jumped, having been trying to sneak away while Nicolas blabbed. "Umm, I just remembered that I left my toothbrush in my room, and I was going to go get it."

Cameron did turn at that, "Don't take me for a moron, even if _you_ are a dummkopf. Anyone with a brain knows that if you need Italian help, you go to Odd _Dellarobia_, the one who is fluent the language? People go to Jeremie for help in everything except Italian. Now get out of here before I think twice and decide to give you a beating."

As Herve and Nicolas scurried off, Jeremie collected his things, "Thanks Cameron, I appreciate it."

Cameron nodded, his hand on the door to their room, "No problem, I wouldn't be much of a friend if I had just left you now, would I?"

Jeremie froze as their door closed, and then let his eyes squeeze shut as a wave of guilt swept over him. Cameron had proven that he could be trusted at the last Xana attack, when he could have stopped them from returning to the past, but didn't. He could have kept Jeremie away from the chair, or simply whacked each of them over the head, but didn't. Nor had he shut down at the mention of Aelita's name like Jeremie had expected him to. Even so, they hadn't told him about Lyoko – again.

()()()()

After the morning classes, but before lunch, Cameron went to the office building to speak with the Principal. As he walked into Nichole's office, she nodded at him and jerked a thumb at the door, "He's expecting you."

Cameron nodded, glad that the Principal had remembered their appointment. Opening the door, he walked up to the man's desk and took a seat in the provided chair.

Delmas steeped his fingers together and put his elbows on the desk, "Good morning Cameron, I'll admit that I've been wondering what you've wanted since Nichole set this appointment yesterday. What can I do for you?"

"I was hoping to ask you a few questions Sir."

The Principal was perplexed, "Oh really, What about?"

Cameron looked down, "I was wondering if you could tell me about Franz Hopper."

Jean-Pierre was even more confused, "Franz Hopper? I haven't heard that name in; oh it must be nearly ten years by now. Why? What's your interest in him?"

Cameron looked back up, "He was my adoptive father when I was three years old. He wasn't around most of the time, so I don't remember him very well. Mostly just music, along with a few other things."

Jean-Pierre pulled his hands back and looked to the ceiling, "Hmm, I remember he was very intelligent, and very popular with the students. There were never any complaints about him from students, in fact the class representatives always had nothing but good things to say about their experiences in science. He was a good man, always seemed to be thinking three steps ahead in any conversation, and the few times we played chess together, it was like he could see every move made ten turns before it came around." The Principal smiled, "The teachers had a Chess tournament once, and nobody wanted to play against him to the point where there was only a final between him and Ms. Meyer, it took a while, but he did win in the end. However, I cannot remember him smiling, he always was very serious, very precise with everything he did. I seem to recall that he instructed Ms. Hertz in the last year of his working here; you could ask her if you had anything else you wanted to know."

Cameron stood, "thank you Sir, I'll let you get back to work now."

The Principal also stood, offering a hand to Cameron, which the boy took, "It was a pleasure Cameron. I didn't know that you knew him, or I would have told you sooner. Try asking Jim as well as Ms. Hertz, he was teaching here for a while before Franz left, he might remember a few things as well."

()()()()

Ulrich was mildly put off his lunch by the eating race that seemed to be going on between Cameron and Odd. The two boys were shoveling food into their mouths at what seemed to be an inhuman rate, and only stopping to go for seconds and thirds. When they finished, they leaned back and patted their stomachs.

Jeremie and Yumi sat down with their trays, followed by Sissi, who decide to make another try for Ulrich and/or Cameron.

Odd's nose wrinkled, "Hey guys, do you smell a dead fish, or is it just cheap perfume?"

"Very mature Odd. Oh hello there Ulrich dear. Would you care to meet me in the park after school today?"

Ulrich pretended to think it over for a moment, "Hmm, get together with you? Very tempting, but . . . not."

The gang laughed as Sissi turned to her other target, "What about you Cameron? Would you like to?"

Cameron stroked his chin, and then frowned, "Oh dang it! I'm afraid that I have something really important to do. Sorry, I guess not today. Try again in, oh I don't know, three hundred years? Maybe my schedule will have cleared up by then."

Yumi spoke up suddenly, "Why don't you guys go out with her, she's really pretty."

Sissi was dumbstruck by her rival helping her out. "Hey, are you making fun of me?"

Cameron laced his fingers together and put his hands on his head, "Well let's use those two brain cells of yours for a minute there Sissi. You just tried to move in on Ulrich, and then his Girlfriend called you pretty, and said that he should go out with you. What do you – Ouch!" Cameron rubbed his arm, "What was that for Ulrich?"

The boy's glare was enough to answer his question, "Oh that's right, you guys aren't actually going out, because you – OW! Oh, come on Ulrich, I was just kidding!"

The German boy ignored him, instead turning his attention back to Yumi as she continued, "Well, why don't you give her a chance? You might be surprised."

Cameron got up and left with his tray before his brain imploded from the weirdness of the situation. Yumi was actually _helping Sissi?_ He shook his head, he must be missing something.

Walking out the door, he was approached by Principal Delmas.

"Hello sir, is there something I can do for you?"

The Principal seemed angry for some reason, "Is Yumi Ishiyama inside?"

Cameron was puzzled by the question, but he nodded and stepped aside so that the Principal could get past him and into the lunchroom. _Oh Yumi, what did you do to make the Principal so mad? Whatever it was, it must have been serious. _Cameron thought for a moment, and then headed to the Science building, He would have a chat with Ms. Hertz first, and then go see Jim if he had any more questions.

()()()()

Walking into the science lab, Cameron ducked down to avoid being nailed in the head by a pair of forceps.

"Oh, I'm sorry Cameron, I'm looking for something, and it seems to have vanished. I don't suppose you can see a book on Darwin's studies of evolution from where you're standing, can you?" Mrs. Hertz pulled open a drawer on her desk and shuffled a few things around inside of it, "Oh blast it all, where could it have gone?"

Cameron looked over the classroom quickly, striding over to the window to look a thick book laying on the sill. Picking it up, he read aloud, "Evolution: The theories of Charles Darwin. Is this it Mrs. Hertz?"

The teacher came over, taking the book out of his hands, "Yes it is. Thank you Cameron, is there any particular reason you came in? I assume that you have some questions on my predecessor for me?" She chuckled at Cameron's surprised expression, "Oh don't be surprised, Mr. Delmas called, saying that you might be coming by later. I must admit I wasn't expecting you this quickly, but that's the way the world works, isn't it?"

Cameron nodded, and they settled into chairs. "I was wondering if there was anything that you could tell me about him. Did Mr. Delmas tell you why I was asking?"

Mrs. Hertz nodded, "Yes to both Cameron. There is a great deal that I could tell you, but to tell you everything would take all day, so I'll summarize. Franz Hopper was a great man, with an even greater mind. I'm one of the few people who can say that they actually knew him personally, instead of just knowing him as a blank face behind a dark pair of glasses." A faint smile grew on Mrs. Hertz's face as she continued, "I knew him in and out of the academy, as a teacher, a mentor, and a friend. Even so, there is a great deal that he kept mysterious, nobody knows where he lived, what he did before he came here, or if he had any family." Her smile faded, recalling the end of his time at Kadic, "During the last week or two of his time here, he seemed sad for some reason, as if he knew that he was going to disappear. Even chess, computers, and robots – which were three things guaranteed to make him smile – completely failed to cheer him. He grew distant, and then vanished without a trace. Some men came asking about him not long afterwards, they questioned me, and Professor Delmas, and Jim, but I think they left with more questions than answers. Men in dark suits and sunglasses, with earpieces." Mrs. Hertz looked up at the sound of the warning bell, "Well, you had best be off." As students started coming in the door, she told Cameron one more thing, "They said they were from the government, and that they were pursuing a wanted fugitive, with a bounty on his arrest or information leading to it. Is there anything that comes to mind that he did?"

Cameron didn't need to think about it, "No, or if there was, he never mentioned it, he also didn't do anything between work and home, he was always back before dinner."

Mrs. Hertz nodded, "He seemed quite honest, didn't seem like the criminal type at all. I just wanted to make sure. Thank you for helping me find that book."

Cameron nodded, and went to his seat.

As the gang came in, Cameron noticed that there was some tension between them, Odd seemed to be uncomfortable, and Ulrich wouldn't even look at Jeremie.

Cameron turned in his seat so that he was facing Odd, "Okay, what happened?"

Odd glanced at Ulrich before responding, "Remember what happened at lunch? With Yumi and Sissi?" At Cameron's nod, he continued, "Well, something else happened, and well, we'd rather not talk about it, in fact, Ulrich might hit you if you do ask him, so I wouldn't advise it."

Cameron nodded, and turned to his computer screen where it was waiting for him to begin typing. As Mrs. Hertz began a lecture, his thoughts inevitably drifted, but he wrote everything down with a machine-like precision without even really noticing what she was saying.

()()()()

After Science class, Cameron went over to the Gym to chat with Jim. As he entered, he noticed a punching bag hanging over in the corner, next to the rock wall, along with a pair of gloves. Thoughts regarding Franz flew out of his head, and he walked over to the bag. He was starting to get frustrated with things right now, and a little violence let-off might be just the cure for it.

As he pulled the boxing gloves on, he focused his mind on the Men In Black, they knew something about Franz, probably Aelita too, but while he had always asked when they moved him between families and the orphanage, they had kept quiet.

As he hit the bag, he thought of what he knew, and what he didn't. _No matter how much I learn about him nothing tells me anything about where they went either. Those notes gave me more questions than answers, and Delmas and Hertz didn't have any answers for them. _His mind moved to the Men In Black, and he mentally pasted one up onto the bag as he hit where the weak points on the man's body would be. _Stupid MIB, with their guns and bluetooths. If they'd just tell me what happened, I'd be fine. But no, they have to pretend like they know nothing about where they are, with no knowledge of those notes – which they don't, if they'd known about them, they would have taken them – or if they're still alive._

Cameron was yanked out of his reverie by the lower half of the bag slamming against the floor and spilling sand out of dozens of tears in the fabric. Cameron sagged, sweat running down his face, and sat down against the wall. He let his eyes drift shut a moment, and then opened them again when he realized that the Gym's lights had switched on. He looked out the window – it hadn't been dark when he'd come into the gym – and ran over to the door. Going back to the dorm, the first thing he noticed was Jeremie's computer laying smashed on the floor. The second thing he noticed was that his robots weren't in the same place as he'd left them, and the controls were nowhere to be found. He sighed – Herve and Nicolas were trying to get him and Jeremie back for his humiliating them this morning no doubt – and went to the showers to contemplate their demise while he washed. As he turned the water on, there was a sudden flash of light, and then darkness descended.

()()()()

Cameron opened the door to the Gym, spotting the massively built teacher he was looking for hammering away at a punching bag near the rock wall. Striding over, he tapped Jim on the shoulder, and ducked as the man swung around with an arm extended.

"Nice to see you too Jim," Cameron said as he straightened up, "Did the Principal call you?"

Jim turned to face him, "Yeah, he did. I'm afraid that there's nothing really that I can tell you about Hopper though, except that he could beat me in chess in less than a minute. Sorry kid."

Cameron was slightly crestfallen at the news, and turned to leave, "Oh, well, thanks anyway. See you around Jim."

"Hey Cameron," Jim called after him.

"Yeah?" Cameron turned back to face him.

"Look, I may remember him for not much else than his chess skills, but Franz was a good friend to me. I want you to know that."

Cameron smiled, "Thanks Jim."

Then he turned and walked away.

End of Chapter Nine

**Hey guys, I hope that you liked it! I wanted to shift the focus of the story away from Lyoko for a while - I really want to keep Cameron off of it at least until False Start. So, then I thought that Cameron probably doesn't remember much about Hopper, seeing as he was three years old, and that Franz was away most of the time, and that some of the teachers must remember something about him.**

**Anyway, Did you love it? Hate it? Please review!**


	10. End of Take

Chapter Ten

End of Take

There was a smattering of applause as the curtains closed over the massive screen showing the credits of another horror film. It slowly petered out as the Principle took to the stage, coming to the stand holding the microphone.

"That was a waste of two hours," Jeremie said, just as Ulrich exclaimed, "That was great!"

Odd put in his own opinion, "The special effects were alright, but I wouldn't call it scary."

Yumi couldn't resist, "You must be joking, your teeth were chattering from minute one! Was it from the sound effects?"

The group laughed, and then Cameron rolled his eyes, "Well, they were certainly enough to make my teeth _grind_ well enough. I could – and probably have – done better in my sleep."

The Principle tapped the Mic to get their attention, "Your attention please, we are honored to welcome the director of this film, which I'm sure we all found very . . . interesting. Please welcome, James Finson!"

As the famous director took the stage, most of the students clapped, while the gang crossed their arms.

"Hey kids, I hope you enjoyed the movie!" Finson laughed, "Just kidding, I know you enjoyed it, right? I mean come on, I did it myself! Anyway, speaking of movies, I'm looking for a location to shoot a new film, and I heard about an old factory on the river that nobody uses, so we'll be in town for a while if it works out."

Cameron gagged from the waves of arrogance he could feel radiating from the man, missing the looks of alarm passing between the rest of his group as he did so. Jeremie muttered something under his breath, but it was lost in the applause and exclamations of excitement in the rest of the crowd.

"Oh great, we'll probably hear his horrible soundtracks from our rooms." Cameron shook his head, "Maybe I should talk to him and see what I can do about getting my own music in there somewhere. It might the do the thing some good."

Yumi laughed, and elbowed him in the ribs, "You really should! It might turn into a good career for you!"

Cameron rolled his eyes again, "Not if I need to work with him ALL of the time."

()()()()

The next day in the lunchroom, the place was packed with people trying to get Finson's autograph, and the gang was clustered outside.

Cameron was looking in through the window, "Do all of those people really want his autograph? Never mind, I see Sissi there, so the answer must be yes."

The group was mulling over what Finson had said about the factory, and then Odd snapped his fingers, drawing Cameron's attention away from the idiots in the lunchroom. "Hey, I've got an idea, Cameron, you said you were going to give him a CD to listen to, so you could do the music and improve his film, right? Well, I just had a thought, what if you took Ulrich with you? He knows the factory pretty well, so between the two of you, you could probably bring the ratings up a full star!"

Cameron thought about this, and nodded, "It's a good idea. But how do you know the factory Ulrich? Did Jeremy drag you along on robo-part gatherings?"

Ulrich laughed nervously, "Nah, I just explore it in my free time – although there hasn't been much lately. It is a good idea though, let's go talk to him about it."

As the two boys made their way inside, Odd and Jeremie exchanged a glance, "I don't have any doubts about Ulrich keeping Finson away from the lab, but what about Cameron? He's found it once, he could find it again."

Jeremie shook his head, "He only found it because the bulldozers brought him to the factory, and Yumi led him to it from there. I think that as long as Ulrich is careful, everything will be fine."

Inside, Cameron gritted his teeth, not only was Finson taking his own table, but his security guard was making people come up one at a time. Couldn't they just make a line instead of having a three hundred pound islander keep people five feet away at all times? How pretentious was this guy anyway?

Ulrich glanced at him, noting the clenched jaw and heavy scowl, "Wow, you have something against Finson Cameron?"

The other brunette shook his head, "Not against him particularly, but I don't see eye-to-eye with famous people. It seems to me that they just walk over everything and leave scraps for everyone else for the most part."

The two boys stopped their conversation as they reached the front of the line, the islander trying to keep Ulrich back as Cameron went through.

"Hey, meat sack, we're here to talk with the guy, together. Tu comprends tu pénible imbécile?"

The 'meat sack' hesitated, and then let them both through. As they approached the table, they caught a glance at Sissi's signed picture, and her purple face. They couldn't see much of the first, but they noticed the words "Lot of nerve" on it, and Cameron smirked.

"Hey kid, you got a problem?" Finson asked when they reached the table, "I don't like people who hate on my movies."

Cameron ditched the smirk and looked steadily at the movie director, "Sorry sir, and you can save your ink. We're actually here with a proposition."

Finson raised an eyebrow, and gestured at them to go on.

Cameron continued, thinking that he would have regardless of what Finson had said or done. "You see," he cringed inwardly at what he was about to say, "Sir, we really liked your movie last night." Flattery continuing, he continued, containing a smile, "In fact, we like it so much that we wanted to try to help with your next one. You see, I'm pretty good with music, and my friend here knows that factory like the back of his hand, and we were wondering if you would give us a shot."

Finson sighed, "Sorry kid, but I've got a sound director, and"

Before he got any further, Cameron slid a disk player over the table to him, "Would you at least try it out? If you don't like it, I'll go without another word."

Finson glared a moment, and then, seeing no sign of letting up in the young face before him, he relented. Putting the headphones on, he listened a moment, and then his eyes went wide.

"Wow kid, I admit, you've got some skills!" He stopped the player, "I'll take you on for this one, and then if it works out, your name goes in the credits. Deal?" After they shook on it, he turned to Ulrich, "So you say you know the Factory really well huh? How?"

Ulrich replied evenly, ignoring the disbelieving tone in Finson's voice, "Oh you know, exploring it, poking around in my spare time, the works."

The director nodded, "Alright, I'll give you a shot. You can show me around when you guys have lunch, and then we'll talk to the Principle about it when we get back."

()()()()

At lunch, the gang followed Ulrich and Finson over to the factory, staying well out of sight.

"By the way Odd, how does Ulrich know the factory?" Cameron asked.

"He said so, He spends a lot of time there." Odd panted, he'd fallen behind and had run to catch up.

Cameron looked carefully at Odd, and could see that while he was telling the truth, he was keeping something under wraps. "Come on, tell the truth Odd."

Yumi spoke up from in front of them, "Ulrich and I meet over there sometimes, just to hang out, you know?" Cameron's eyebrows went up, and he could see that the back of Yumi's neck was turning red, but from blushing of exertion, he couldn't tell.

As they crossed the bridge, they stayed carefully to the upper levels of the factory as Ulrich and Finson slid down the conveniently dangling ropes hooked to a support beam above them. They could hear the pair talking down below.

"This is great, it's even better than I thought!"

"Well yeah, but it's falling apart, we'll be lucky if the roof doesn't come down on us while we're shooting." Ulrich replied, trying to deter the director for some reason.

In a hushed voice, Cameron asked, "Is there any reason why Ulrich is trying to get him not to film here? Or does he just want Finson to leave so that we won't have to deal with him for long?"

Yumi shook her head at to make him be quiet, and held up two fingers to answer his question. Cameron nodded and returned his attention to the people below.

Odd had his eyes just barely over the side, so that he could watch them. While he thought that this was stealthy, there was still a good two feet of bright yellow hair sticking out, which thankfully weren't noticed by the excited director.

As the couple neared the elevator, The group could hear Ulrich saying something about Uranium, and then quickly assuring Finson that the Elevator went nowhere, since it was broken down. Cameron's eyes narrowed, there was something he was missing here, some sense of deja vu that lurked just outside of his reach. He backed from the edge to focus on it, accidentaly kicking over a heavy beam as he did so. Odd, Yumi, and Jeremie whirled around, and they all held their breath as Ulrich claimed that the factory was haunted. This was ridiculous enough that Cameron almost laughed, but held back as the other three were still glaring at him.

As Ulrich was offered a spot as technical advisor, the four of them went into various poses of prayer, hoping that Ulrich wasn't stupid enough to say no. When they heard him give the affirmative, they started to cry out in relief, and then shushed each other when as they caught themselves.

As Ulrich started his next statement, the same thing occurred to Cameron twenty feet up and about ten feet over.

He was just starting to form the words when Ulrich beat him to it, "The Principle would never let me or Cameron miss out on class."

Cameron's hopes were lifted when Finson told Ulrich to let him handle Delmas. He might not like celebrities, but sometimes, it could come in handy to be able to pull rank.

()()()()

As the depressed trio made their way out of the Principal's office, Finson was stunned.

"I can't believe it; he said no! I even offered to put his name in the credits!"

He would have gone on, but Sissi came through the doors at that moment, "Mr. Finson, can I speak to you for a moment?"

As the director went to speak with Sissi, Cameron turned to Ulrich, "I can't believe we didn't think of her sooner." At Ulrich's puzzled look, he continued, "I mean, she wants to have one or both of us as a 'boyfriend' – although slave would be a better term – there's no way that she can tell us no, as long as she's getting something that she wants out of it. This is perfect! She gets her part, I show Finson what real music is like, and you can do your thing. We really should have brought her into the loop before now." He stopped talking as the other two returned, Sissi with a determined look on her face, and Finson with a smile on his. Ulrich glanced towards Cameron, "Three guesses as to what deal they've worked out."

()()()()

Back in Jeremie and Cameron's room, the four boys were sprawled around in various spots, as Jeremie recovered from his shock at Sissi's chance at stardom.

"She actually got a part in the film?" He looked at Cameron, and then to Ulrich as the boy replied.

"Yeah, since she got her dad to agree to letting Cameron and me skip school."

Odd couldn't resist, "Ulrich and Sissi, working together on a film! This could be the beginning of a great romance!" His gaze turned to Cameron, "Or will it be a relationship between Sissi and Cameron? Only time will tell!"

The group laughed, "Oh, I would love to see the look on Herve's face when he finds out. I'd say he'll add new shades of purple to the color wheel!" Cameron laughed again, and then he walked over to his bed, turning on his headphones, as well as his GameCube. He'd hit a roadblock in the form of a boss in his newest game, and he wanted vengeance for the eighteen billion times it had killed him before he left for the film.

()()()()

As Ulrich heaved Sissi's bag across the bridge, Cameron brought up the rear of their little convoy with a small backpack of camping gear, while easily carrying both his and Ulrich's cases in one hand, while turning off his disk player with the other. As they came to a front desk, manned by meat sack and a woman whom Cameron automatically named evil secretary, not the most original name, but an accurate one, as evil secretary pointed to a bin in front of her and informed them that their cell phones were now confiscated. Apparently Finson was more strict about them then their school was. Sissi was outraged, but relented when given a choice, turn in her phone, or turn around and go back to school. As Ulrich hauled Sissi's bag down a makeshift staircase, Cameron opted for the simpler route, tossing his and Ulrich's clothes bags down, and sliding down after them on the rope.

"Hey kids, sorry about that," an actor said, gesturing towards the entrance, "No outside communication during the shoot without Finson's okay. That's the reason everyone sleeps here. Less chance of a leak about the script. Apart from that, it's really fun, like a big camping trip." Noticing Cameron's bag of gear for the first time, he continued, "Looks like you came mostly prepared, but I don't see a tent. Were you expecting us to provide them?"

Cameron replied easily, the guy was pretty nice for someone working with Finson, "No, I went on camping trips all the time before I came to Kadic. All I need is my bedroll and a sleeping bag, and I'm fine. Both of which I have, so all I really need now is somewhere private." Noticing a wide beam as they passed beneath it, he continued, gesturing towards it, "Somewhere like that for instance. I don't roll around at all, so that looks fine."

Ulrich spoke up before the man could respond to Cameron's idea of 'camping' "What if we need to get in touch with our parents? Like if there's a problem?"

The man laughed, "When you shoot with James Finson, there's never a problem." He looked at Cameron, "You can talk with Finson about that support beam, but if he needs it for a scene, you'll have to move your things beforehand."

As they neared a crowd gathering around a massive covered object, they slipped through to the front. As it was unveiled, Ulrich couldn't resist commenting, countering Finson's bragging about how it would spit goo everywhere. "Funny, It looks like the alien from the movie, oh what was it called, I can't remember the name."

Cameron was nodding, "Yeah, it does. The one we watched at school the other night? What _was_ it called?"

Finson approached them swiftly, "My monster is unique young men, and this movie will be like no other ever made!" The director walked off, and Cameron smiled, pleased at getting under the annoying man's skin.

He looked back up at the beam he wanted, and wandered over to the stairs to get back to the upper level of the factory. Setting up his little home away from . . . boarding school, he could hear Sissi's scream, and Finson applauding her quick mastery of the single line he gave her. "You're the monster's first victim, twenty seconds of glory. Gory glory too."

Cameron smiled again; maybe this movie wouldn't be as bad as he thought.

()()()()

That night, Cameron opened his eyes to the sound of running footsteps below him – he hadn't been sleeping, but he had felt like Ulrich was hiding something. He was pleased to know his suspicions had been correct. Sliding down the rope he had tied off earlier that afternoon, he landed softly and shadowed Sissi, who was shadowing Ulrich.

As he followed the two deep into the factory, Cameron spotted a green light on a ledge, and Ulrich ascending a ladder towards it. Sissi was halfway across the room, and Cameron saw no need to alert Ulrich to both of their presences. He silently slipped across the room after the girl, clambering up the ladder and onto a ledge leading to the light he'd seen earlier.

As he descended the ladder leading into the room, which he now saw was a massive computer lab, he heard Sissi confront Ulrich. "Well, well, what kind of a weird place is this?"

Cameron heard Ulrich's surprised exclamation at the girl's appearance, and decided to give him another shock, dropping the last ten feet or so from the ladder and rolling to break his fall, almost – but not quite – slamming hard into some sort of half-dome in the middle of the room. "I figured you were lying about the elevator, and I'm guessing that's what those doors are?"

He could hear Jeremie on the other end of a communication line, "Ulrich, please tell me that I'm not hearing Cameron and Sissi in there with you."

Ulrich groaned, and that was apparently enough for Jeremie, since they all could hear a clicking noise as he hung up. Cameron crossed his arms and went into a now familiar 'you've got some explaining to do' stance that made Ulrich groan again and drop his head into his hands.

"Listen guys, you can't tell anyone about this place." He started, but Sissi wanted to say her part.

"Or what, some monster is going to spit disgusting goo all over me?"

Cameron and Ulrich winced at her mastery of the line that Finson had given her, and all three of them looked up after the slime had finished falling down onto her head.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHH!" Sissi shrieked.

Cameron would have laughed, but he and Ulrich were too busy grabbing the girl and hauling her to the elevator before the Monster landed on them. As the door closed between them and it, they all sank to their knees in relief.

Almost as one, they jerked back up to their feet as a massive dent was put in the floor of the lift, and Cameron looked up for the hatch. Finding it, he turned to Ulrich, a plan already on his mind.

"Ulrich, we've got to go." The three of them jumped as a second dent was knocked in the floor, and the blood drained from their faces. "We can use the hatch to get out before that thing gets in."

Ulrich looked up as well, and then knelt and formed a cup with his hands to boost Cameron up. The third dent came as the boy reached the hatch and shoved it open. Pulling himself up and reaching a hand down for whoever was coming up next, the others were out just before the creature chasing them tore a hole in the lift and leapt up at them. As the thing's wrist was coming up at them, Cameron slammed the hatch closed on it, and they all heard the sickening sound of something breaking before the hand was withdrawn and the hatch closed fully.

Crawling over to a ventilation shaft, the three of them got away and deeper into the factory as quickly as they could. As they fled, a few things occurred to Cameron. _Okay, that lab seemed familiar for some reason, that was Finson's monster that was chasing us, so something is controlling it somehow, and this shaft if too small for it to follow us. The smart thing would be to stay inside, but we have to get back, or else we'll be blamed for its disappearance. We're teenagers, we've vanished, and so has Finson's cheap knockoff monster. He really needs to see a psychiatrist for those delusions of grandeur that he has._

Cameron's thoughts were halted as the three of them reached to end of the ventilation duct. Ulrich – somehow – turned around so his feet were facing the grille covering the exit, and kicked it hard enough to send it flying away. As Cameron helped Sissi out, they heard a snarl around the corner, and the three of them ran hard in the other direction. Cameron had to admit, Sissi was being pretty good about all of this, she hadn't made a sound in the ducts, and now she wasn't screaming loud enough to wake the dead. As they ran, Ulrich led them straight through the factory without hesitating anywhere; leading Cameron to think that he really did know his way around in here.

As they fled deeper and deeper, the sounds of the pursuing beast fell further and further behind. When they could no longer hear it, they turned one more corner and slipped into the shadow of a short corridor that had a dead end walled in on three sides. As they crouched in the cover of cobwebs and shadows, Cameron felt almost safe – except for the fact that he was scared out of his wits by the idea of being eaten by a cinema monster. _Wait a second, _he thought, _what if this is some big joke being played on us by Finson and his crew? _Then he dismissed the idea, _Nah, Finson might do it, but the people we met last night were pretty nice. _He noted that the sun's morning rays were beginning to come through the windows of the factory, and as they hit the corridor they hid in, they heard the beast pass above them. They all held their breath as the creature stopped directly above them, and released it as the thing bounded off somewhere. Cameron closed his eyes and breathed in and out deeply, trying to calm his racing nerves and relax.

A few moments later, they snapped back open as he heard Sissi stifle a shriek of terror. He looked hard at her, and then his head turned slowly to a flash of dark green at the entrance to their little corridor. Infinitely slowly, his hand inched towards a strip of metal that looked hard enough to put a dent in the monster. He lifted it as it crept towards them, halting just a few feet from them, just out of lunging range. As it looked straight at them, Cameron rose slowly, the metal in his hand, and leapt at it. He had the feeling that there would be no intimidating this thing by shouting and blustering, a fact proven as it opened its mouth and he was slammed back against the wall by a rapidly hardening layer of goo, shortly accompanied by Ulrich and Sissi. He heard Sissi let out a sound of disgust as the thing approached her and licked her face, and then it bounded off, to who knows where.

After a few minutes of futile struggling, Cameron eased his attempts and shot looks at the other two, "I don't suppose that either of you have any way of contacting . . . anybody? Some sort of earpiece or extra cell phone that you didn't give Evil Secretary?"

Ulrich hung his head and stopped his own struggling, "No, not a chance at it."

Cameron sighed, "Maybe if Sissi screamed loud enough . . ."

Sissi would have hit him if she could have moved, "Sure, why not? I could rupture your eardrums if you wanted."

A black form at the end of the hall caught Ulrich's eye, and he looked over to it, hoping that one of the actors had found them. The reality was even better, "Yumi! Thank God!"

Sissi and Cameron were stunned, "What are you doing here Yumi? How did you find us? Actually, forget both questions." Cameron paused and drew breath, "Can you get us down from here?"

Yumi grinned and flipped open a knife, "Sure, hold very still."

Cameron was not enthusiastic about Yumi cutting very close to him with what looked like a razor-sharp knife. "Are you sure about this?"

The Japanese girl looked at him smugly as Ulrich dropped to the floor and stripped off the remnants of dried goo from his clothes, "You were saying?"

Cameron sighed, "Never mind. Continue."

As Yumi freed him and Sissi, the young Delmas said, "For once I'm glad to see you Yumi!"

Cameron groaned and face palmed, "I can't believe you said that where I didn't have a camera! It would have been such a great scoop for Milly and Tamiya!" He ducked as both girls swung at him, and was decked by Ulrich.

As he straightened, they heard another noise from where Yumi had come in. The black-haired girl stiffened and shut her eyes, expecting to be thrown out of the factory. What she hadn't expected was to be grabbed by the hand and yanked along as the other three fled. Regaining her balance, she looked over her shoulder and her eyes grew wide at the sight of an alien creature pursuing them. She glared at Ulrich, "Next time, you just don't come to this sort of thing."

Ulrich opened his mouth to respond, but Cameron cut him off, "Okay, you guys can have a lover's quarrel later, assuming that we're still alive later. For right now, RUN!"

As they rounded a corner, they were spotted by Finson, who shouted something, and ran after them. Cameron shoved the man out of his mind for the moment; he was more concerned about the angry possessed monster chasing after them. After what seemed like an eternity, periodically broken by someone stumbling and being hauled along by the others until they regained their feet, they raced into an old control room, through a metal door into an adjoining room, and slammed the door shut after them. Placing their hands on their knees, they allowed themselves a moment to catch their breath, and then Sissi moved aside for the others to barricade the door behind them.

When that was done, the four of them went over to a corner that was out of sight of the door, and crouched down, fingers crossed in prayer that the creature wouldn't find them – or at least that it would look the other way before coming after them. There were shouts in the control room, followed by Finson shouting, "You have to obey me, I created you!" This was shortly followed by the director's cry of fright, and then there was a massive crash as the monster slammed against the door. Fortunately, their barricade held, but they all knew it was a matter of time before it gave way and let the monster in.

Cameron closed his eyes and pulled his legs in to sit Indian style, if he was going to die, he wasn't going out sniveling like a baby. He would have left that to Herve if he had been there.

As the door gave way, they heard the monster sniffing loudly, and Cameron's hopes that it wouldn't come straight for them plummeted, along with his hopes for survival. He opened his eyes and started to stand up, but was pushed back down by Yumi as she and Ulrich stood up, "Stay down you two, it wants us, we're the only reason it's here."

Cameron's eyes went wide, and he stood up anyway as the creature came around the corner, this time with a short piece of sharp metal in his hand, "and there's no way that I'm abandoning a pair of friends when they needed help."

Yumi glanced at him as he crouched into a fighting position and sighed, "I'm telling you, it wants us!"

Cameron would have countered her, but three of the monster's hair/tentacle things shot out and grabbed them around the throats. He raised his hand up, and brought the makeshift knife down on the tentacle grabbing him. The creature shrieked in pain and swatted him against the wall as it momentarily loosened its hold on Yumi and Ulrich, allowing them to gulp in a precious mouthful of air before it squeezed their necks again, fully intent on eliminating them.

Cameron struggled to his feet and looked for his 'knife', and spotted it . . . stuck where he had stabbed it – firmly inside of the flailing tentacle. He looked around wildly and grabbed an steel bar – the great thing about factories was that there was plenty to use as weapons. He held the bar by the non-rusty-ish end and brought it down hard on the tentacle holding Yumi. While the creature shrieked again, it's hold didn't loosen, and he changed targets, holding the bar up and running straight towards the monster.

The monster brought its undamaged tentacles to bear on him, and he smacked one hard, but couldn't get the other before it grabbed him and hauled him into the air, slamming him against the wall Sissi was cowering next to. As he heard the bar clatter to the floor, he grabbed the tentacle holding him and heaved with everything he had. It didn't loosen, and he was raised higher and higher into the air.

Cameron opened his mouth, but no air flew down into his lungs, he felt as though his veins were filling with lead, and his struggles slowed, and then nearly stopped altogether.

As Sissi watched, Cameron, Yumi, and Ulrich stopped moving, the only thing showing their life was the fact that their hands still gripped the things around their necks, but in an unconscious state, that didn't do them much good. They were lifted higher and higher into the air, until they were nearly directly above the monster, nearly twenty feet up, and there was no sign of letup from the monster trying to kill them. Her eyes fell to the bar Cameron had dropped, and she picked it up. Drawing it back and hurling it, the bar struck the creature in the center of the chest and it staggered, the three people it was holding falling briefly as it slackened it's deadly grip on them, and they sucked in air before they were lifted back up.

Sissi fell to her knees, nearly sobbing and pounding the floor like a child, a wordless scream leaving her mouth as she watched them stop struggling and just hang there like some sort of strange doll set, or puppets without strings. They began to descend, and then the creature froze and collapsed. Now it was the string less puppet, and the three teenagers fell onto it, their eyes fluttering open as the vice grips around their necks loosened. As they regained their senses, Yumi's phone rang, rang, and rang again. The last thing Sissi remembered was the phone starting to ring a fourth time, and then a massive dome of white light washed over her, causing her to slump to the floor, her own eyes starting to shut.

And then everything went dark.

()()()()

Cameron woke up as the crowd around him clapped, Yumi's elbow digging into his ribs making him swat her and sit up straight, applauding the end of the appalling movie they had just sat through.

Odd leaned forward, "Hey Cameron, when did you fall asleep? I thought that was usually my job!"

Cameron grinned, "Oh, I think it was right about the time they got on the ship."

Odd's eyes went wide, "That was the very beginning! Ah well, it's probably for the best. I doubt you would have liked it anyway, it wasn't very scary."

Cameron smiled evilly, "oh really? Then why could I hear your teeth chattering even when I was fast asleep? Was the music that bad?"

Odd's smile faded, and his face went red, "Oh, umm, well I . . ."

Yumi helped him out, "Well, the music was terrible," Odd's smile started to come back, but Yumi shot him down, "But there was the time that he shrieked like Sissi at a young age, and I don't think that the sound caused that!"

The group laughed hard as the Principle mounted the stage, and introduced possibly the most famous horrible director ever.

END OF CHAPTER TEN

**So, did you love it? Hate it? Please review!**

**So, I probably won't be updating for a while, bit busy at the moment, and I have another Fanfic lined up that I want to get going before I lose the ideas for it. Never fear however, I will be back, and this story will continue!**


	11. Satellite

Chapter Eleven

Satellite

Cameron's eyes drooped, they were in the middle of a science lecture, and Ms. Hertz had been far from interesting this time. He had stayed awake and into it at first, but then his mind wandered, and he started to draw pictures. He'd done about five of the Hermitage, three more of Aelita, and two of Franz, along with a group picture of the men in black that had a bomb falling towards them but after that, his hand started to cramp, and he set his pencil down, unwilling to bother typing to keep notes.

"Mr. Hopper, would you care to explain what you get when you provoke a collision between two neutrons?" Ms. Hertz asked, barely startling Cameron, who glanced up.

He responded in a slightly bored tone, but not so much as to be disrespectful, "When provoking a double neutron collision, you get a—" That was as far as he got before every phone in the class went off, including his. He looked down at it briefly, and then slipped it back into his pocket, not recognizing the number.

Ms. Hertz was outraged, and took it out on Sissi, "Ms. Delmas, would you care to explain school policies regarding cell phones?"

Sissi's eyes went wide, "All phones must be switched off before entering a classroom, under penalty of confiscation."

Ms. Hertz held her hand out, "Well then, hand it over! That goes for the rest of you as well; I want all phones up on my desk as you leave!"

As the class filed out, Cameron heard Sissi muttering under her breath, and felt kind of smug for being the only person in class who still had a phone. He pulled it out of his pocket and flipped it open, taking a good look at the number it displayed, the area code, and then 507-3634. He frowned, he didn't know anyone with that number, and then he put it back in his pocket.

Yumi ran up to them, "Hey guys, something really weird happened in class today!"

Odd beat her to the punch, "Everyone's phones went off and the teacher confiscated them?"

Yumi nodded, "It happened to you guys too, huh?"

The group nodded, except for Cameron, "Well, since I was the only person who didn't answer a number I didn't know, it looks like I'm the only person in school who still has their phone."

"Hey you guys!" Sissi's voice rang out across the clamoring students in the hall, "we're organizing a meeting to get our phones back, are you with us?"

Cameron and Yumi answered, not quite in sync, "Definitely."

Sissi looked surprised, "Oh, okay then." She regained control of herself, "Meet us in the gymnasium right after lunch."

Cameron put a hand on his stomach, Sissi's mention of lunch reminded him that they were having potatoes and gravy today, which was one of his favorites, "Well guys, you heard the lady, let's get lunch and head to the gym!"

()()()()

At their usual table, Cameron devoured his food, and his second tray, and his third. Pushing back a cleared fourth, he leaned back and tuned in to the conversation, as Ulrich said, "You're serious, you're going to go and steal your phone?"

Odd was offended, "Taking something that's yours isn't stealing Ulrich. Plus, I'm also getting yours, Jeremie's, and Yumi's, so I wouldn't judge too quickly."

Ulrich nodded, "Alright, let's go, if we hurry, we can make the meeting."

Cameron shot him a pointed look, "You don't have to go, Yumi and I are the only ones who said yes. It'll be fine if you head back to your room. I get the feeling you'll want your rest before this gets ugly. When Sissi has her mind set on one thing, and her father has his set on something else, well, you remember what happened last time, don't you?"

He was referring to a time a few weeks ago, when Finson had been at Kadic, looking for a place to film. When he left, Sissi had wanted to go with him, but her father had said no. Basically, when she tried to go anyway, the entire student body had suffered, and anyone who had a brain had steered clear of the Principal for days afterwards.

Odd, Ulrich, and Jeremie nodded with a shudder, they remembered all too well, Odd especially, since Rosa had been forced to cut meals down as punishment.

"On that reminder, I think I'll pass on the meeting." Ulrich said, turning towards the office buildings with Odd, "Catch you guys later."

As the two of them moved towards the offices, Yumi started towards the dorms, "I'm going to talk to Jeremie, see if he's figured out why all of the phones went off."

Cameron waved goodbye, and then went to the Gym.

()()()()

As he neared the red doors, he started hearing a dull roar. At first he thought it was his stomach, wanting more food, but when it went on, and on, and on, he realized that it was the other kids who'd gone to Sissi's meeting. Opening the doors, his eyes went wide – he hadn't even known that there _were _this many kids at Kadic, let alone ones who would follow Sissi. As the lot of them sat down to give Sissi the stage, Herve pulled out a stack of papers and a pencil to write with. Sissi began speaking.

"Fellow students, today we are united for a common goal: the return of all our cell phones. They have been unjustly stolen by the tyrannical teachers and Principal of this school, who always look for ways to keep us in line. Well now they have gone too far! We want our phones back, and we want them now, not at some distant point in the future when the system dictates. We have the right to be heard, and the right to our phones. Anyone who disagrees, leave now, or be with us."

Not a single student got up, although Cameron did subtly check his phone to make sure that it was silenced, and not about to ring, which would kind of get him attacked by the whole student body. Sissi looked around and nodded to herself, "Alright then, to business. We need to write a petition that will force the Principal to give us back our phones, and make sure this doesn't happen again. Make a line and come up to sign it."

As the students assembled, Cameron glanced around – things seemed to be going smoothly, without any pushing or shouting he'd expected – and stepped forward with the rest of them. As he came up to the table, Yumi came up to him. Nodding greetings, he stepped forwards to sign the document. After he stepped away, and grinned as he heard Sissi berating Yumi for not arriving earlier, his smile faded as he heard the Principal's booming voice.

"What exactly is going on here?"

Almost as one, the students in the Gym turned towards the brown suited man at the entrance as he strode towards Sissi's table. Cameron's blood ran cold when he saw Ms. Hertz beside him, likely meaning that Odd and Ulrich's escapades had been discovered. However, he didn't see the duo anywhere nearby, which probably meant they had gotten away safely. His attention turned to Sissi as she moved to confront her father.

Flashing the current paper in front of his face, and gesturing towards the table, where a large stack of the papers stood, she said "_This _is exactly is what is going on here d-Sir! We've all signed a petition, so you have to give us our phones back.

The Principal scoffed, "First, let me remind you that in this establishment, the students do not make the rules. Secondly, Ms. Hertz has just discovered that someone forced her locker open, obviously to take their phones back. When we go through and discover who the perpetrator was, they will be severely punished!" He glared at Sissi, "Now I want this nonsense stopped right now, or else!"

Sissi however, was unbowed by her father's dominating presence, and stood calmly against his waves of anger, "Well it's only normal sir, who could possibly live without their cell phone?"

Delmas was shocked, "That is it! All of you, back to class, right now!"

Sissi was firm in her position though, "And I say that none of us set foot inside of a classroom until we get our phones back!" Sissi stalked away from her father, the students parting to make a pathway for her, and then falling in behind her like an army. "No more phones, no more school, no more phones, no more school!"

As they exited the Gym, Cameron noticed Yumi slip off towards the dorms, but before he could follow her, the sea of students shifted, and she was lost from view. As they headed for the lunchroom area, and started organizing the creation of picket signs, his thoughts went away from her.

()()()()

It was nearly half an hour before everyone had a sign, many had I (heart) (cell phone) on them, but most of them simply had the slogan Sissi had created when she stormed away from her father – NO MORE PHONES, NO MORE SCHOOL. That was what was on Cameron's sign – he felt that saying that he loved cell phones was going a bit too far. If a teacher had taken his piano, well, different story.

The group moved so that they were outside of Delmas' window, and started chanting, over and over. Cameron glanced at Yumi when she sat down heavily beside him, and he handed her his sign, folding his legs into a meditative position – he wasn't sure why, but it was more comfortable for him than sitting cross legged. Yumi gave him a quick smile, and they turned back to resume the chant.

"No more phones, no more school! _No more phones, no more school! NO MORE PHONES, NO MORE SCHOOL!"_

After what felt like hours – probably because it was – the Principal had apparently decided that enough was enough.

"I demand that you stop this absurd strike now! Get back to class!" The Principal stared down at his wayward daughter, but then glanced up across the group as a movement caught his eye. The movement turned out to be Yumi putting down her sign the take a look at a note in Kiwi's collar, and the Principal moved quickly towards her, stepping between students as he did.

"Yumi! What is going on?"

Yumi jumped, caught off guard by the Principal snatching up Kiwi by the collar, and she stammered, trying to explain Kiwi's presence without incriminating herself or Odd.

"This is unacceptable! To my office, right now!"

Yumi glanced over at Sissi before climbing to her feet to follow the Principal inside. The look was not lost on Sissi, who jumped up, "Did you see that! We've got to free her from the dictator!"

The crowd stood, chanting once again, but a different tune this time, "Free Yumi! _Free Yumi! FREE YUMI!"_

Cameron looked up from where he had dozed off, and seeing Yumi being taken inside started the wheels in his head turning. As the door closed behind the two, the students sat down, the chant for Yumi's release intermingled with their original one.

Cameron's eyes narrowed and he pulled his laptop out – he'd hacked the school's mainframe before, but this time, he had to do it in less than a day and a half. He smiled, he remembered his way around for the most part, and the firewalls hadn't been changed, or any passwords replaced since the last time he'd . . . wandered. He was inside the network in about a minute or so, and then he was on the power grid. He smiled again, and 'borrowed' control of the school's cell antennae. Punching in number after number, he gave Delmas a call, along with anyone else on the school's system.

A moment after he hit the enter key, he pulled out his phone, smiling slyly as the screen showed an incoming call, but he silenced it before it could ring. Putting the piece of hardware back into his pocket, he closed his computer and waited for Yumi to get the idea.

()()()()

He didn't have to wait long, Sissi's voice made him certain of that, "He let you go? Unbelievable!"

Yumi was panting slightly, bent over and regaining her breath, "I slipped out when his phone rang, because," she paused a moment, "because our cause is more important than anything. In fact, I think we should take it out to the other schools, make a united front."

Sissi was perplexed a moment, but then accepted the idea, "Yeah! Freedom for all the schools!" She led the crowd away to the main gate, all of them chanting – mostly in sync - for the return of their phones. Cameron simply moved with the crowd, he saw no reason to shout himself hoarse, so he kept silent, preferring to let others do the shouting.

Unfortunately, up at the front, there was a great deal of shouting going on, gradually cutting through the clamor and silencing the student's chants. Delmas was between them and the gate, yelling for their immediate return to class. Cameron raised an eyebrow; Delmas was either very brave, somewhat stupid, or possibly both. He was standing, alone, between a large crowd of raging students and their goal, shouting at them. Smart move.

As he continued, Cameron moved forward when Yumi's voice cut across the Principal's, "Please sir, it's a matter of life or death!"

Cameron's brow furrowed, 'life or death' was a little extreme for a bunch of cell phones, even if it were Sissi who was talking. Yumi saying so was just weird. He reached the front of the crowd and was about to say so, when he heard Odd's voice echoing from behind the student body, "Yumi, we've gotta go! It's you the satellite is after!"

Cameron tilted his head in confusion, but Yumi gasped and immediately began running for the woods, moving into the trees and running as if her life depended on it.

As it turned out, it did.

A massive explosion rocked the ground, blasting trees and other foliage away, knocking many of the students off of their feet. The Principal immediately changed his tune, calling for the kids to follow him away from the school he'd just been trying to send them back to. Cameron would have gone against it, but he was caught in the overwhelming tide of panicked students and swept away from the school. He kept trying to get back, but it was like taking half a step forward, and then five back. Eventually, he gave up as another explosion rocked the ground, and he wondered if either of his friends was still alive. He wormed his way to the edge of the crowd and escaped out to the side, taking a moment to catch his breath before going back to the school. He stopped at the gate as a third blast rocked the ground, nearly throwing him off his feet, but he clung to the fence until it stopped shaking. He started running once it seemed steady, but stopped as a bright light flashed in his eyes. Then everything went black.

()()()()

Cameron sat back as the last of the posters came out of the printer, "Remind me again why we're setting up reminders about the school's phone policy? I don't think any of the teachers are giving out extra credit for stuff like this."

Odd shrugged as he took a stack, "Well, you can stay if you want, catch up on your Italian. The rest of us are just good students."

Cameron scoffed, "You? A good student? Where are the four riders?"

Jeremie rolled his eyes, "I'm pretty sure you're the only person who uses that reference Cameron. Besides, it's more the rest of us who're doing it, he's just going along with it."

Cameron sighed and stood up, "Fine, fine, I get it. Give me some of those."

End of Chapter Eleven

**Hey people! I know, I haven't updated this in FOREVER. I'll try to update at least once a week, maybe twice, but I'm juggling this, my Twilight Princess Fanfic, school, and a Kingdom Hearts fanfic that I haven't actually posted anywhere yet.**

**Anyway, please leave a review! I love them especially constructive criticism. They make a great BBQ to roast my stories on.**

**Aleeta6: I will try to update as often as I can, thank you for reading!**

**Oh, I won't be able to write as often, the last week or so, I've been writing in class while I was supposed to be taking notes, and now . . . well, you guys can probably guess what happened. Basically, if I live through the shouting that I'll be going through once my parents find out, my time is gonna be REALLY limited. Sorry all, I will try to update whenever I can.**


	12. The Girl of the Dreams

Chapter Twelve

The Girl of the Dreams

**HAHA! I've wanted to do this chapter for SO LONG! I love Taelia, and really wish she'd stayed at the school. As a result of that wish, she did for the duration of this fanfic. Heehee! Note: Anyone who hates on ****_this _****chapter WITHOUT GOOD REASON will be introduced to Cameron's Lyoko form (It won't actually be showing up for . . . a good while, so don't get your hopes up) before it is released. Oh, and you'll face my wrath. Anyway, enjoy!**

Cameron left his room as Jeremie finished 'one final program' for his robots. Knowing how much time Jeremie was spending on them these days, that last program was probably composed of eighteen different parts, each one having to be done separately. But, that just meant Cameron got his breakfast, so he wasn't complaining.

As Cameron moved through the crowded lunchroom, he was intercepted by Sissi, who was followed by her usual shadows, "Hello there Cameron! Care to sit with me today?" Sissi didn't wait for an answer, grabbing his arm and hauling him through the room after her. As he passed by the gang's table, he caught Odd's eye and sent a non-verbal message. _HELP ME! _He didn't see Odd's response though, Sissi was moving too quickly. As he was unceremoniously shoved into a chair, he sent a prayer to any god that would listen, begging them to get him out of his predicament.

As it turned out, somebody up there liked him.

Jim arrived and tapped Sissi's shoulder, "Ms. Delmas, your father would like to see you. Now. Something about your cell phone."

Cameron sighed in relief as the girl paled and walked quickly to the door, after yanking his arm free of the grip she had on it. He stood and made his way back to the gang, where Jeremie was just sitting down.

He fell into an open chair, "Thanks for the assist Odd."

The blond shrugged, "Hey, I got Jim over there, didn't I?"

Cameron grinned, "There's nothing wrong with Sissi's phone, is there?"

Odd shook his head, "Not that I know of. It was the first thing that came to mind."

Cameron glanced at the window, where one of the posters regarding school cell phone policy was still fluttering in the wind and grinned again, but it faded as he saw Sissi walking back to the doors. He groaned, "Please hide me."

Jeremie smiled faintly, "I don't think I know of such a location near enough to help you. Sorry."

Cameron closed his eyes, then ducked under the table as Sissi re-entered the room. He saw her shoes stop at the table and held his breath, muttering in a _very _low voice, "Keep going, keep going keep going. Or just be stopping for Ulrich."

Sissi's shrill voice rang out, "Do you two know where Ulrich is?"

Jeremie's reply was muffled by the table, but Cameron caught something about her cell phone. He was proven right by Sissi's exclamation of disgust, then, "Oh then, where's Cameron? I was hoping to see him again before class. There's something very important I need to tell him, since you don't appear to want to tell me where Ulrich is."

Odd's voice was quite clear, "He's under the table."

Cameron froze up, and then heard laughter coming from above him from his friends. Sissi had started to bend down to look until they had started cracking up, then Odd continued, "Oh wow! I didn't expect you to believe that Sissi, even for you, that's . . . wow." The laughter died down as Sissi's feet moved away, and Cameron popped back up – after contemplating giving Odd's shin a good kick – digging into his croissant and hot chocolate. He gave Odd a glare after finishing, "I can't believe you did that. I get you had a plan, but even so, that was just cruel. What if she'd actually looked?"

Odd shrugged, "But she didn't. Could I have half of your croissant?" he reached across the table before Cameron answered, yelping and drawing his hand back as Cameron swatted it, "Okay, okay. I was just kidding."

Cameron shrugged himself, "My food. Whether or not you chased—"

A hand fell on his shoulder and he yelped before turning to the person connected to it.

And looked into the face of the devil herself.

Sissi smiled, "Well, well, looks like Odd may have been right for once. I can't believe I fell for his trick. Now then, can we talk a moment?"

Cameron glared at her, "Does it have to do with your cell phone or anything I'm interested in?"

Sissi fluttered her eyes at him, "Of course it does! It has to do with me!"

Cameron swatted at her hand, "Not interested, goodbye."

Sissi recoiled, "What?! B-b-but! Cameron sweetie!"

Cameron took a bite of croissant and – not quite by accident – elbowed her as he stretched out, "Wow, hiding under tables really makes you want to stretch." Sissi fled as he started to roll his shoulder, and everything he wanted to stretch was suddenly better. He grinned and took his tray up as the bell rang.

()()()()

Cameron looked up from his sketchbook as the Principal entered the room, "Good morning class! Before your lessons begin, I'd like to introduce a new addition to your class." He gestured to the door, "Come in Taelia, I'm sure they're all very eager to meet you."

Cameron's eyes widened and he dropped his pencil, nearly following it to the floor. He regained his senses and blinked a couple of times, rubbed his eyes, and then took a second look at 'Taelia' after he'd recovered his pencil. _How in the? But, there's no way! She looks so much like—_He looked closer, _no, no, it's not her. Very, very similar, but not her. Well, actually, maybe her. I haven't seen her since I was three, she could have changed some, darkened her hair, it's – oh no wait, if it were her, she'd be in her twenties by now. Wow, nice going Cameron. Well, if it isn't her, there's no reason she can't be a friend._

Mrs. Hertz's voice rang out over the classroom after the Principal shut the door, "Would anyone be willing to let Taelia work with them today?" She sounded tired, and Cameron couldn't blame her. Few people were willing to host new students, but on this occasion . . . Cameron lifted a hand casually, not much higher than Jeremie did to answer questions.

Mrs. Hertz looked up at the class from her seating chart, "Now let's see here, where to – Oh! Cameron, I didn't see your hand there." She turned to Taelia, "Why don't you sit next to Cameron my dear? I'm sure you'll like him." As the girl hesitated, she gave her a little nudge, "Go on, don't worry, he doesn't bite." Taelia hesitated a moment more, then advanced as Cameron moved his stool a bit to give her some room.

She set her things down as Mrs. Hertz began the lecture, "Thanks. Your name's . . . Cameron, right?"

Cameron smiled a bit, "Yeah. My friends call me Cam though."

Taelia blinked, "Really?"

"Well, no not really."

()()()()

"And that is why—" Mrs. Hertz was cut off by the bell ringing, and the class flooded out. As Herve and Nicolas passed by, one of them 'accidentally' knocked her pen off the desk, and the other – also 'accidentally' – kicked it across the room.

Taelia clenched her jaw and moved to get it back, brushing against Nicolas, who acted like she'd body-slammed him, "Hey, watch where you're going will you?"

Taelia ducked her head and started to mutter an apology when Cameron cut her off, "Generally Nicolas, _Boys _are the ones who move for _girls._ There's a thing called Chivalry, or, on occasion, it's called good manners. While I understand that's a foreign concept to you, to the rest of us, it's pretty natural."

Nicolas made a fist and moved to confront him, "Why you! I aughtta teach _you _some manners!" He stopped cold as Cameron raised an eyebrow and stood up, seeming to tower over the ginger, even though he was actually a good inch shorter.

His voice was quiet, and even more threatening for that, "You want to say that again Poliakoff?" He stood straight, not in a threatening position or anything, but suddenly, Nicolas felt very small.

He gulped, "Uh, say what?" He turned and made for the door, acting as if someone had called his name "Coming!"

Cameron smiled, and then went to help Taelia find her pencil. Retrieving it and dusting it off, he held it out to her, "Here you go. Don't mind Nicolas and Herve, I'd say they're good kids, but really they're just jerks who don't get in trouble because they're minions of the Principal's daughter."

Taelia smiled, "Thanks, Cameron."

She hurried out, but didn't leave the science building before Cameron had his things and was out of the classroom, "Hey, wait a second!"

Taelia slowed and turned around as Cameron came up to her, "Yes?"

Cameron raised an eyebrow, "Wow, sunny one second, frosty the next." He let his expression relax, and then grow somber as they exited the building, "Look, I know most people don't really get it, but I do."

Taelia was confused, "Get what? What do most people not understand?"

Cameron looked sideways at her, "What it's like to be an orphan, to be . . . alone. People say they do, but—"

He was cut off by Taelia's icy reply, "Oh and you do understand? How did you even know I was an orphan, hmm? Did you go through my things before coming to help me? Did you—"

Her tirade was cut off by Cameron's raised hand, "I actually do understand, mostly because I am an orphan. Four times over. I came to Kadic after three months of living in the children's home, I probably know that place better than just about anyone. Well, not quite anyone, but better than most people, that's for sure. I've spent a grand total of two years in that place, once I got here, I promised myself that I wasn't going back." He kept his face expressionless and his voice neutral, but in truth, he hated that place, hated the constant sniveling of kids. He didn't mind it when it was someone much younger than him, or if it was someone who'd just recently lost their family, but when it was kids older than him, or ones who'd been there for long enough to have gotten over it, it really got on one's nerves. Taelia's face was sad, she did know what it was like.

"How did you know I didn't have family?" She asked as they sat down on a bench, "Seriously, how could you tell?"

Cameron sighed slightly, "I've seen people with faces like yours at the orphanage. People who hold in their feelings because people have told them to let it go, to let the past lie where it is. I don't see it in the mirror, not anymore at least. But I've seen it in the face of every kid at that orphanage. Eventually, I realized that people who didn't know what it was like didn't have that expression, of keeping their feeling bottled up behind a mask of calm. So, whenever I see someone like me, I try to help them out. However I can."

Taelia nodded, "That's why you stood up for me after class." A thought struck her, "When did your—"

Odd cut her off, "Hey Taelia, my friends and I were thinking that you uh, looked kind of familiar, like we know you from somewhere."

Taelia was quick to turn from soft-hearted girl to a whip-tongued crusher of romantic hope. "Oh please, that's got to be the oldest pickup line around."

She pulled a book from her bag and opened to a random page as Odd tried again, "Who said I was trying to pick you up? Maybe I was just making conversation."

Cameron tilted his head, "And interrupting ours." He stood up, "I'll see you later Taelia. Well, I hope." He moved quickly away before he was overly tempted to smack Odd upside the head. He'd only known Taelia a little while, but he felt like she already knew him better than everyone in the school.

Taelia caught up to him in a moment, "Is he always like that?" She jerked her head back at where Odd was staring dumbfounded after them, clearly stunned that his oh-so silver tongue had failed him miserably. He could see Ulrich laughing at Odd's major blowout, but then his attention returned to the girl next to him as she waved a hand in front of his face, "Cameron, are you there?"

He smiled, "Odd? Uh, if you're asking if he's always asking girls on dates, yes, he is. Or he's busy getting slapped by them. Either/or, take your pick."

Taelia shook her head, "No, does he always babble on about monsters and virtual worlds? And is the kid in the blue turtleneck and gargantuan glasses a little . . . insensitive?"

Cameron shook his head slowly, "No, Odd is normally . . . I would say more sane, but he's really not. As for Jeremie – he's the one with the glasses – well, I doubt he knows you're an orphan. Did he ask about your family?" Taelia nodded her head and pursed her lips, and he continued, "Yeah, he just doesn't know. He's usually a really nice guy. I should know, I bunk with him."

They hurried into the main building as the bell rang, and Cameron glanced over to Taelia, "Do you have a schedule yet?"

Taelia shook her head, "No, Mr. Delmas just said to stick with whoever I want to. Right now, that's you."

Cameron's cheeks were suddenly tinged with red, "Well, um, I, uh, cool." Taelia giggled and moved ahead into the class, as soon as she was inside, Cameron smacked himself in the head, "Oh you idiot! Stupid stupid stupid stupid stupid!" Each repeated word was punctuated with Cameron punching his leg – he didn't want to go into class with a red face, that would be . . . bad for his rep. Unfortunately, his last punch missed by a . . . significant margin. Cameron doubled over in pain for a moment, then straightened and let a breath out. Calming himself with an effort of will, he went into class and sat down next to his new friend.

()()()()

Cameron's eyebrows raised at Jeremie's outburst. His friend didn't look sick. What was stranger was Odd's offer to take him to the infirmary. The chances of Jeremie blacking out from nausea? Somewhere between zip and zero, as were the chances of him forgetting where the infirmary was, getting lost, etcetera etcetera.

Cameron rolled his eyes as the two blonds left the room, and then they narrowed in suspicion. Jeremie had been fine at breakfast, and all through science, and he'd looked fine as he was leaving. If anything, he'd looked . . . excited about something. Cameron allowed his attention to return to the board, whatever the two of them were planning, he could figure it out after class.

Taelia nudged him, "Did you get that last bit?" She pointed to the board where Ms. Meyer was writing out a new set of equations.

Cameron looked at the top of the board, a long equation that looked like it belonged in a space shuttle. A few moments later, it clicked, "Yeah, the—"

He was interrupted by Ms. Meyer, "Mr. Hopper! Do you have something to share with the class?"

Cameron shook his head, "Taelia was confused about something. Sorry."

Taelia elbowed him, "Thanks for throwing me under the bus!" She muttered.

Cameron shrugged, "Welcome to Kadic Academy."

()()()()

Once the bell rang, the class gave off a collective sigh of relief, packing their things as quickly as they could to enjoy the rest of their Saturday. Cameron waited at the door as Taelia spoke with Ms. Meyer about the equation she hadn't understood. She looked over her shoulder and waved him on, not wanting him to wait on lunch just for her. He shrugged and smiled lazily, leaning against the frame. She gave him an annoyed look and waved at him to go again. This time he rolled his eyes but listened.

He entered the lunchroom just after Jeremie. The boy was muttering under his breath, and Cameron caught the words "Odd . . . blind . . . can't see . . . program worked . . . was right." Cameron stopped the flow of muttering, "Uh, Jeremie? What's the problem?"

The computer genius was jerked out of his reverie, "Huh? Oh, Cameron. Uh, it's nothing. Don't let me bother you." He rushed into the lunchroom before Cameron could ask more questions that might lead him to Aelita and Lyoko. Cameron stopped in his tracks at the boy's sudden and panicked exit. His eyes narrowed and he shifted his bag on his shoulder, he had a feeling that the things he wanted to know were on Jeremie's Computer.

He was nearly to the dorm building when he heard Taelia's voice, "Cameron! Where are you going?"

The girl caught up with him and bent over a moment, sucking in air. She straightened, "What are you doing? I thought you were going to lunch."

Cameron looked over his shoulder at the dorms, then looked back at her, smiling, "Ah, it's nothing that can't wait, let's eat."

()()()()

Taelia fidgeted nervously, "They're still looking at me."

Cameron looked back over his shoulder to where the gang was sitting. Odd glanced back and hurriedly turned to his food, Ulrich looked over Jeremie's shoulder briefly, and then returned to his conversation. Yumi watched the girl for a few more moments, and then turned to the rest of the gang. Cameron smiled and turned back, "Ah, don't worry about it. You're just the new kid. I got plenty of stares in my first few days. It'll stop once they get used to you."

Taelia nodded, "Oh, so it's normal then. That makes me feel much better." The sarcasm was plain in her voice as she stood and took her tray back. Cameron sighed and stood up as well, "Do you need any help unpacking?"

Taelia looked at him, mildly surprised, "Um, sure. Thanks."

Cameron nodded, "I'll meet you up at the dorms in a few minutes. You know where your room is?"

Taelia rolled her eyes, "Do you see a suitcase? Of course I do. I'm across from the little reporter girls."

Cameron grinned, "Oh, you'll meet them later today, unless you've already had the pleasure of seeing them. Don't worry; they're better than people make them sound."

Cameron raised a hand in farewell as Taelia left, and then strode over to the gang, slamming his hands down on their table and mentally making a note not to yell too much.

"What are you guys doing?"

Ulrich turned calmly to him as the others froze, "I believe it's called sitting. Or talking, or eating, in Odd's case. Is there a problem?"

Cameron wasn't calmed, "Uh, yeah, there's a problem. Do you have any respect for anyone's feelings? You're sitting here, staring at a girl you barely know. What do you think is the problem?"

Ulrich raised an eyebrow, "You're one to talk. You're over there chatting her up! Excuse us for looking at you."

Odd spoke up next, "Cameron, relax. We're not trying to creep her out. But haven't you noticed that she looks a _lot_ like Aelita? Is that why you're interested in her?"

Cameron's eyes narrowed, "Are you trying to say that I'm making a move on a girl I just met today? That's your area Odd, not mine. And yes, she does look a bit similar to Aelita. Thing is, she's _not _Aelita. I've shown you the pictures, if it were Aelita, she'd be teaching here, not studying with us."

Yumi held up her hands in a calming gesture, "Okay, okay Cameron, we get it. We're just saying. It's kind of creepy the relation between the two of them. Sorry if we offended you, or her. We'll try to back off, but seriously, it is creepy."

As Cameron left, he passed Principal Delmas and a squad of policemen heading into the lunchroom. The Principal looked worried, the police looked determined, and Cameron suddenly felt like something had gone wrong. Badly. He got the impression that something with lots of legs was walking up his spine, and he shook himself, pushing the instinctive, _it's the MIB, they've done something_ thoughts away, he made his way to the dorms and knocked on Taelia's door.

"Come in"

Taelia smiled as Cameron entered, folding a shirt and setting it into the drawers under the bed. She motioned towards a medium sized pile of boxes on her desk, "That's the rest of my stuff, do you mind?"

Cameron shook his head, "No problem." He picked up a box-cutter from the desk, "Uh, is this yours?" As Taelia nodded, his eyebrows went up, "You have a box knife lying around. You do know that the school has a no-weapons policy? Oh, wait a minute. It's not really enforced very much, Ulrich has a rack of weapons above his bed. I think you'll be fine." He sliced the first box open and pulled a computer out, laying it on the ground briefly as he made space for it where it was supposed to go. As he finished plugging it in and crawled out from beneath the desk, he heard the door bang open and Jeremie came in. Cameron jerked up and wished he hadn't, backed up a bit more, and then snapped to his feet as Jeremie began talking.

"Aelita! Xana's launched another attack, and he's coming after you! We've got to get to the factory and deactivate the tower before it's too late!"

Taelia crossed her arms and smirked, "Well for a pickup line, that's considerably more original than the one your spiky friend tried."

Jeremie was nonplussed, and then grabbed her shoulders, "It must have been the materialization that gave you amnesia, but—"

He was cut off as Cameron yanked him back by the collar, hauling him off of Taelia and holding him as the boy struggled, "Jeremie, have you not noticed that none of Odd's girlfriends dated him because he shook them around? If you want a date, you just ask for one and hope for the best."

Jeremie shook himself free – mostly because Cameron let him go. He was about to retort when the three of them heard a clanking in the hall, accompanied by what sounded like a tortured moan. The suit of Samurai Armor came around the corner and stood in the doorway, raising its sword as it rushed them.

Cameron shoved the others out of the way and leapt to the side, nearly into the closet. There was a harsh _thunk_ as the blade slammed into the floor, and the three of them made a run for it as the armor tried to pull it free. They skidded around the corner and sprinted for the door, Cameron stopped and turned back to Taelia's room as the armor exited, the helmet turning towards them and full of nothing but blackness. Cameron dropped into a fighting stance as Jeremie and Taelia realized he was no longer with them.

"Cameron, what are you doing?" Jeremie yelled, edging towards the door.

Cameron glanced back as Taelia took a step towards him, "Get going!" He barked at them, "I'll slow this thing down."

Taelia shook her head, "What are you thinking? It'll cut you into meatloaf!"

Cameron chuckled, "Well don't eat Rosa's dinners for a while. Now get moving!"

Taelia shook her head again, but Jeremie grabbed her and pulled her along as the armor advanced on Cameron.

Cameron nodded and turned back to his adversary, the armor had slowed from its run and was now steadily advancing towards him. It stopped a few feet in front of him and bowed, then raised its sword to a ready position. Cameron dropped as it stabbed at him and scythed it's legs out from under it. It crashed to the ground and he pounced on its sword, trying to wrest it from the shadowy hand it was held in. While he was doing that however, he failed to notice the other arm's movement. It slammed into him and he went flying into the wall, crumpling to the bottom as it returned to its feet and resumed its chase of Jeremie and Taelia.

Cameron staggered to his feet, shaking off the impact with some difficulty. He shook his head to clear it, and then went to chase after the samurai.

()()()()

Taelia's side was cramping, she had been hauled along to the boy's floor before she'd shaken the boy's grip. Since then they'd sprinted through the doors, down another flight of steps, and towards the gym. She stumbled as the boy rounded the corner ahead of her, falling with a cry of pain and fear as she saw the armor coming out of the dorms at her. The boy – Jeremie, she thought his name was – noticed she was no longer with him and moved back towards her, hesitating when he saw the samurai. He reached her and tried to pull her up, but she was paralyzed with terror.

"Aelita, we've got to keep moving! Come on!" He tugged at her arm, but she yanked it back.

"My name is Taelia! I don't know who your Aelita is, but stop calling me that!"

Jeremie held his hands up in a placating gesture, "Whatever, but is now a really good time to be arguing?"

Taelia looked back and shrieked, then let herself be pulled along again as the Samurai's sword swished through the air where they'd just been. The Samurai spun once, having expected resistance, then resumed chasing them. It came up on them and got between it and the gym doors, raising its sword in a clear message, _time's up._

The sword started to come down, and then the armor crashed through the red doors. It took Taelia and Jeremie to realize what had happened. Cameron had come up from behind them and tackled the creature, taking it through the doors and away from them. Taelia was about to sigh with relief when Cameron came sailing back through the doors, landing with an _oomph_ on the stonework before the steps. The armor strode back through the doors and pinned the two of them up against the wall, raising its sword almost impatiently, as if it had been looking forward to killing them when Cameron had interrupted.

Just like he did, again.

The armor came down, and Cameron's foot smashed into its leather gauntlet, then kicked the blade out of its 'hand'. After that was done, he slammed his knee into the chest plate, promptly getting elbowed off and pinned on the ground himself. The 'hands' went for his neck, and then he couldn't breathe, couldn't move the thing off of him, couldn't do anything but wait hopelessly for his vision to go dark.

Imagine his surprise when instead of everything going dark, he saw a pair of feminine hands grab the helmet and yank upward hard, pulling it off and slamming it back into place, only upside down. An unholy shriek split the air and the armor spun off of his chest, choosing to let him live another minute while it dealt with the girl who had turned the world upside down on it.

Cameron wheezed and got to his knees as Taelia backed up against the wall, holding up her hands defensively, as if to ward off the creature hounding her. As Cameron pushed himself to his feet, it was Jeremie's turn to act, slamming a javelin he'd grabbed from storage into the back of its knees, bringing it down and giving Taelia the moment she needed to get into the gym. Jeremie pulled Cameron the rest of the way up and handed him the javelin, "Unless you plan to come with us, you might want this. Heck, you might want it anyway."

Cameron accepted the weapon and spun it once, getting used to the grip, "Always wanted to spear something with one of these. Does that make me a nerd?"

He turned to the samurai as it recovered its feet – and its sword. He spun the javelin again and held it near vertically behind his back, extending his left hand out to his opponent. He heard the gym door clang shut and knew Jeremie had escaped, he just hoped it was to somewhere a bit safer than where Cameron was now.

Cameron turned his palm to the sky and twitched his fingers, "Okay you hunk of archaic leather, let's dance."

The Samurai rushed at him and he spun the javelin once more, bringing the sharp metal point around to face the hardened leather. He held it like a spear and drove it forward, leaning into it and forcing the Samurai to a stop with the point. It didn't puncture, but that probably saved his life as the sword whistled past his face and left a small gash on his cheek. He stumbled backwards, elbowing the gym doors open and putting his shoulder against it as it shuddered on its hinges as it was hit by the suit of armor on the other side. He breathed a sigh of relief and jerked back from the door as the sword stuck through it about two inches above his head. The Samurai crashed through and instantly charged him, preparing to drive its blade through his body.

And then the fight really began.

()()()()

Cameron desperately raised the javelin again as the sword whistled down at him, but this time, his weapon was caught in a place where it had already sustained several hits, and it snapped. He'd put the poor thing under more stress than it was used to in the fight, which had lasted the better part of half an hour to his reckoning. The Samurai kicked him and he sailed back into a wall, hearing something crack in his ribcage and pain screamed through his body, assailing every point in the left side of his chest and being released in a howl. Cameron slid to the side as the sword came in again, not of his own volition, but it still saved his life. He howled again as cold steel slammed through his arm, pinning him in place before the weapon was withdrawn and the Samurai moved away into the shadows.

It's intentions became clear as Yumi came through the door, rushing to his side as she spotted him. Almost as if she'd done it a thousand times before, she whipped out a knife and cut his flannel sleeve off; tying it tightly around the wound she could see. She moved towards his chest to turn the rest of his shirt into a bandage but withdrew her hand as he groaned with pain when it strayed close to his ribcage. She clicked her tongue and sliced off his other sleeve, tying it around as well.

Before she could do anything else however, he put a hand on her shoulder, and she leaned close as his mouth moved, a trickle of blood moving down his chin as he spoke, "Behind . . . you."

Yumi's eyes widened and she dove backwards into the Samurai's legs, knocking it down as she sailed to momentary safety. It didn't give Cameron a second glance, which was scarier than if it had. The lack of concern told him it wasn't bothered turning its back on him, which it did a second later as Yumi picked up the longer piece of his javelin, holding it like it was a sword and she knew how to use it.

Cameron's vision went dark as the two fighters closed with each other, "Careful . . . Yumi. Don't . . . let it . . . get you." He whispered.

Then everything faded away.

()()()()

Cameron chuckled as Taelia was assaulted by the midget reporters, peppering her with questions about what she thought of Kadic so far, where she had moved from, had she met any friends yet, why was Cameron in her room, were they a couple, etcetera. His smile faded with Taelia's as Milly asked her about her parents, and he tapped them on the shoulders.

He gave them a death glare deluxe "I think you've bothered her long enough, don't you? Why don't you two go back to your rooms now, 'kay?"

Milly looked crestfallen, "Okay. Can we do one more question?"

"No. I know you two, your 'one more question' will lead into another, and another, and it will just keep going. You've been here a quarter of an hour, you have enough for an article."

As the girls exited the room, he said one more thing, "Oh, and if you mention me in your article, I'll have words with you. Got it?"

Tamiya nodded, "Got it Cameron, we won't say you're dating oof!"

The last bit was called for by Taelia's pillow nailing her in the face. The two reporters fled across the hall and the door shut quickly behind them.

Cameron glanced at Taelia before returning her pillow, "Nice throw."

The girl shrugged, "Thanks. I played softball a while before coming here. Are they always like that?"

Cameron thought about it a moment, "Uh, no, not really. Only if they've heard that you have a secret, then they'll pester you about it until you come clean. Whatever you do, do _not _come clean if it's a secret you don't want shared."

Taelia nodded hesitantly, "Okay. Thanks for the help today Cameron. See you tomorrow?"

Cameron nodded, "You bet."

End of Chapter Twelve

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	13. Plagued

Chapter Thirteen

Plagued

Cameron yawned and turned to the next page in his history textbook. Jeremie was muttering to himself as he did something or other on his computer, and Yumi was absorbed in the table tennis game between Odd and Ulrich. Feeling his eyes fall shut, he closed the textbook and stretched his legs under the table. A sharp pinch to his elbow woke him up quick and he glanced sheepishly at the girl next to him. Taelia rolled her eyes and returned her attention to her textbook as a thought struck him.

Glancing up at Jim, who was still absorbed in his comic book, Cameron pulled out his "glasses" and slipped them on, for all the world appearing to be dozing off. The first prototype of the "Drone Specs", as Odd had dubbed them, was dual purpose. One lens held a feed to the active drone, the other lens was normal. These glasses however, were both dedicated to the drone. One held a display of battery life, speed, heat level, and altitude. The other gave a display of what the drone was looking at with its camera.

Underneath the table, his fingers danced on the controls of his Wasp, waking the drone and sending it on a joyride around campus. He'd installed a method of opening the window with it, involving some string, a wire, and a lot of swearing. As the window opened smoothly, Cameron smiled, glad that he'd managed to design something else that worked.

As he took his drone around the school grounds, he spotted the library and decided to . . . shake things up a little. As Odd and Ulrich's match came to a close, Jim appeared to notice the disturbance in the 'study hall' – where nobody was actually studying. Ulrich crashed to the ground after swatting the ball across the line of textbooks to win the match and looked up as Jim's shadow loomed over him.

As the gym teacher chewed the German boy out, Cameron brought the Wasp down to hover up and down outside of the window across from Taelia. The girl looked up as the movement caught her eye and stifled a laugh. Cameron moved the Wasp in a circle, then zipped it upwards and out of sight as a shriek reverberated through the room from one of the other students.

The girl was shaking and pointing at the window, "G-g-gia-giant Bee!"

Cameron smothered a laugh as Jim turned towards him, suspicion plainly written in the eyes that Cameron was supposedly unable to see behind his glasses. The Gym teacher stormed towards him and he quickly dropped the remote towards the ground, where he caught it with his feet and deposited it in his backpack. As Jim put a hand on his shoulder and shook him, he pretended to yawn, then pulled the glasses off and closed them, cutting off the link to the drone without deactivating it. He blinked a couple of times and looked up at the burly man, "What," he yawned again, "do you need Jim?"

Jim opened his mouth, then leapt towards the door as it opened, grabbing Delmas by the ear and assigning him two hours of detention. The assembled students laughed as Jim apologized profusely, then went back to his reading. Cameron glanced back a Taelia before replacing his glasses and subtly retrieved his remote, flying the drone back to his room before depositing it on it's stand.

As the bell rang, Jim caught Cameron by the arm, "What were you doing there Hopper? That girl said she a giant bee, and the only one on campus I know of is yours. Were you trying to scare someone? What if you had and someone reported it to the police? Then we'd all look like fools."

Jim would have said more, but Cameron cut him off, "Maybe she was just seeing things Jim. After two hours of this place, people are tired. Tired eyes see things. Can I go now?"

Jim growled and released his arm, "Fine, but if I hear more about this . . ."

Cameron raised his eyebrows at the thinly veiled threat, "You'll what? Confiscate my robots for me wanting to test them out? Machines sometimes malfunction Jim, and I haven't flown my wasp in over a month now. In fact, I really need to take all of my robots for a spin pretty soon, make sure they're not getting rusty." He looked pointedly as Jim's hand until it was removed from his shoulder, then ran off to catch up with Taelia.

()()())(

Cameron pushed back his tray and suddenly remembered that his Wasp was hovering above the Library. He pulled his glasses out and started piloting it back, but Taelia tapped his hand before he got far, "Um, can I try?"

Cameron blinked behind the specs, and then – somewhat reluctantly – pulled them off and handed them to her. Taelia put them on and let out a "whoa" of amazement. Her eyebrows disappeared beneath the rims as they furrowed in concentration, and her fingers began to move. They didn't tap the controls with the same smooth precision that Cameron used, but she quickly got more used to the controls and was soon gliding across campus. She took the glasses off after a few minutes and handed them back to him, "That's pretty neat. I parked it outside your window, I don't really feel comfortable bringing it in and parking it."

Cameron nodded and retook control as she slid the remote across the table to him, bringing the Wasp in through the window and settling it down on its charger/stand. He deactivated it and stood, making his way back to the dorms as Taelia trailed after him. They'd only known each other for a few weeks, but the two were already almost inseparable. They weren't a couple – not by a long shot – but they both had many of the same interests, and the same . . . well, the two of them were closely aligned, and they left it at that.

()()()()

Cameron flopped into his bed as Taelia sat down on Jeremie's bed across from him, sighing with the contentedness that came from a class-free afternoon at Kadic academy. Cameron sat up and came to his feet, retrieving his keyboard from its place in the closet.

He plugged it in as Taelia's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, "You never told me you played!"

Cameron thought a moment, then shrugged, "Well, you never really asked." He played a quick warm up, then launched into one of his new favorites.

_Just a small town girl, livin' in a lonely world _

_She took the midnight train goin' anywhere _

_Just a city boy, born and raised in south Detroit _

_He took the midnight train goin' anywhere _

_A singer in a smokey room _

_A smell of wine and cheap perfume _

_For a smile they can share the night _

_It goes on and on and on and on_

He grinned as Taelia smiled, and joined him in the chorus.

_Strangers waiting, up and down the boulevard _

_Their shadows searching in the night _

_Streetlights people, living just to find emotion _

_Hiding, somewhere in the night. _

Her voice swelled, alto overcoming tenor as the two of them grinned. For some reason, they hadn't really discussed music in the near month she'd been at Kadic.

_Working hard to get my fill, _

_Everybody wants a thrill _

_Payin' anything to roll the dice, _

_Just one more time _

_Some will win, some will lose _

_Some were born to sing the blues _

_Oh, the movie never ends _

_It goes on and on and on and on _

_Don't stop believin' _

_Hold on to the feelin' _

_Streetlights people _

They stopped singing as a scratching sound came from the wall near the vent. Cameron stepped over and knelt down next to it, rapping on the wood with his knuckles. Almost as if it were in response, the two of them heard Sissi's shriek of terror. They would have gone to help, but the next thing they heard was the girl scream something about her dress, so they ignored it. Cameron rolled his eyes and went back to his bed, running into another song as the two of them just sort of . . . forgot . . . about the outside world.

Cameron lifted his hands from the keyboard and shook them out a little. He'd been playing for hours, and it was past dark out. He checked his phone and grimaced as he saw the text from Ulrich explaining Jeremie's predicament. The text was dated from hours ago, so he didn't reply, just tossed it down on the bed and leaned against the closet. He leaned his head back and closed his eyes, not noticing as Taelia – not very subtly – pulled the keyboard across the room to her and cracked her knuckles.

His eyes _did _open as another scratching sound came from the wall, and he looked around before raising a hand to stop her from playing. The sound came again, and again, until it was nearly constant. Cameron's eyes widened as the grate across the air vent popped off and dozens of rats spilled out across the floor, drawing a shriek from Taelia. He backed away from them, reaching one hand for the door handle, and the other to Taelia. She grabbed it and was promptly yanked off Jeremie's bed, almost knocking over the keyboard in Cameron's haste to get them out of the room.

The two of them sprinted down the hall to the stairs, almost tripping over one another as the lights went out, then making their way down the stairs, carefully feeling for each step before putting their weight down in the darkness. As they continued down the steps, they heard the sound of running feet, and Cameron instinctively stuck his hand out as the person attached to them sounded like they'd slipped just above them. Sissi's fall was broken by Cameron's sudden grip on her wrist, and she let out a scream before she realized who'd caught her, the faint moonlight illuminating him but not his companion.

"Cameron? Did you just save me?" She regained her balance and threw her arms around him, "Oh I knew you loved me more than that red-haired twig! Come on, let's—"

She was cut off by a tap on her arm, and she almost fell down the stairs again as she realized the 'red-haired twig' was standing right behind the boy she was smothering.

Taelia's voice was full of sarcasm, "Might I ask who this 'red haired twig' in question is? I'm fairly certain he hasn't been talking to Milly lately, and I _know _you couldn't _possibly _be talking about me, so who is it you _are _speaking of Sissi?" Cameron could tell that her eyebrow was raised, just from the sheer amount of sarcasm in her voice. She let Sissi blubber for a moment, then stopped the flow of untranslatable babble, "Oh, so you _were _talking about me? That's . . . interesting. Remind me to hit her when I get a chance, will you Cameron?"

Her voice was light and teasing, but Cameron still felt the need to treat her words as serious, "Hmm, well I don't know Taelia, maybe you should just get it over with here and n—Ow! What was that for?"

Sissi's reply was cut off by the scratching of little claws on wood, and the screeching of rats coming towards them. The three of them immediately returned to running away, moving down the stairs as fast as they could without tripping and hurting themselves.

When they reached the bottom, they made for the doors as quickly as possible, hoping to get help from the people in the lunchroom. Their hopes were shattered as they saw the mass of rats surrounding the cafeteria, until they spotted the group of people making a stand in front of the doors. Their weapons were fire extinguishers and trays, both of which were very effective, and yet ineffective at the same time. Sissi shrieked for help and was quickly muffled by Cameron's hand covering her mouth.

The boy hissed in her ear, "Do you want to bring them over to us? Think before you act next time!"

Sissi nodded behind his hand, then her eyes widened as the army of rats turned towards them. Just as they started advancing on the trio, the bell of a bicycle rang and rats squealed as Yumi ran them over. She skidded to a stop next to them, then realized there were three of them.

"Oh, shoot. One at a time maybe?" She patted the wire seat behind her, "Your carriage awaits princess."

Whether she was talking to Sissi or Taelia didn't matter, because Sissi was the one who clambered on behind her. Cameron gestured for Taelia to squeeze in behind her and got ready to run.

The sea of rats parted for the bike this time, none of the rats wanted to be run over twice. Cameron stayed close behind them, keeping within the split before the rats could cut him off. Sissi and Taelia jumped – well, fell would be a better word – off of the bike as Yumi pulled hard on the handlebars, causing the bike to tip over and skid through the rats, parting them neatly and running over any who didn't get out of the way in time.

()()()()

Odd threw his extinguisher at the rats as it sputtered to a stop, choosing to smash the remaining creatures rather than try to threaten them with an empty can. As he picked up a tray, Ulrich yelled at Jim, "We can't hold out forever here. Is there anywhere we can go that's safer?"

Jim took a moment to notice, as he was terrified of the encroaching rats. Cameron snapped his fingers in front of the man's face, grabbing his attention, "Hey, Jim! Where can we go that's not connected to the sewers?"

Jim pointed to the science building, "That's the only place on campus that doesn't have a sewer connection. We should be safe there."

Cameron nodded, then turned and caught an extra fire extinguisher as Rosa threw it to him. Apparently she'd braved the lunchroom to get the one she kept next to the stove. He pulled the pin and started blasting a path towards the Science building, Ulrich covering his other side.

The two of them held the rats back as Jim tried to put the key in, Ulrich eventually hurling his empty extinguisher through the tide of furry little creatures. Cameron looked over his shoulder as his can sputtered a moment, then resumed its steady blasting of foam at the rats, "Hey, Jim! Hurry up with that, will you?"

He was rewarded a few moments later as he heard calls for everyone to get through the door. His can sputtered again as he mounted the steps, and he dropped it to run for the door. Odd slammed it closed as he raced through, the thud of rats against the glass clear over the hush of the building. The group ascended the stairs to the roof, closing and locking the heavy metal security door between them and the rats. They heard a crash and rushed over to the edge to see a wave of grey bodies cross a fallen tree into their safe haven. Cameron gulped, and then his brain clicked and he scanned the crowd to find Jeremie.

Not seeing him – or several of the staff members – in the crowd, he went over to the security door, putting a foot on the massive hose reel and boosting himself up next to the phone antenna. He looked around the campus from his vantage point and could see a few places that the rats were concentrating on. He pulled out the Wasp's remote and put on his usual glasses, bringing the robot online and out of his room. He brought it around the campus, looking for anyone who wasn't barricaded against the rats. As the Wasp neared the office building, the battalion of rats pulled away from it, leaving with no trace apart from the missing bottom of the main doors, and several gifts that Cameron was sure would smell great.

He was struggling to see, and then remembered that he'd attached a light next to the Wasp's camera to help him on just such an occasion. Well, maybe not this particular occasion, but it was close enough. As the light came on, a tide of rats swept away from the low flying drone, scared off by the bright beam of light emanating from the machine. Cameron filed that information away for further use as his drone swept towards the library. As it came in, scattering the rats with its beam, a flash of light came through one of the windows. He brought the wasp in close as the window opened and Jeremie clambered out, holding a pair of camera flashes to help him get past any rats that decided to get in his way.

Cameron brought the Wasp in above him as the boy made his escape, breaking any resistance to his movement between the Wasp's beam and the boy's flashing lights. As they neared the gate, Cameron brought the wasp around to lead Jeremie to the science building, but Jeremie just kept moving, through the gate and out into the city. Cameron sighed in annoyance as he felt someone climb up next to him.

Taelia's voice was low in his ear, "What's going on?"

Cameron took a moment to respond, concentrating on following Jeremie through the dark streets towards the river without a light. He'd shut off the beam for two reasons, primarily to conserve the bulb, but also partly to keep Jeremie from realizing he was being pursued.

He muttered back slowly, "Rats are all around us, some more heading here from the office building, some are grouped at the Library. Both places have enough to keep whoever's surrounded inside, so we can forget about any help. A squad of rats is chasing after Jeremie, and he's trying to lose them in the city. Or he knows I'm following him and is trying to lose _me_, which he may find to be a lot harder. The rats don't like light, so if anyone down there has a flashlight, or a flash on their phone that they can keep on, it might be helpful in slowing the rats down." On his lens, Jeremie turned a sharp corner and Cameron had to backtrack a few meters to follow him down the alley he'd turned off into. A wave of rats followed the Wasp, and Cameron had to bring it up past head height to avoid a few leaps at it. He brought it down again to avoid a fire escape, jerking up and away from a clothesline. Apparently alleys were hazardous for flying objects.

Cameron maneuvered through the remaining alleyway, returning to a height safe from the rats as he came out onto the streets. He made a left after Jeremie and flew along the waterfront, getting up above the flash as Jeremie scared off the rats chasing him. That done, Jeremie calmly walked along the river to a bridge connecting the mainland to an old factory. The cameras flashed again, and Jeremie moved forward as rats spilled off of the bridge into the water. The horde advanced as Jeremie prepared to flash them again, but Cameron beat him to it, descending to just a few feet above the ground and activating the lights of the Wasp. One was built into the tail next to the camera, but each wing had a small, bright light bulb at the end, as did the flat plane of the Wasp's head. The rats reared back at the sudden and continuous flare of light, and most of them fled into the river.

Cameron flew the Wasp down the bridge and back before he deactivated most of the lights – they drained the power faster than anything – and raised it to Jeremie's eye level. He bobbed it up and down in place of a nod, and was about to follow Jeremie into the factory when he heard a continuous rattling sound below him. He didn't need to think long on what it was.

The students surged toward the door at Taelia and Jim's urging, phones and cameras at the ready. Cameron raised the Wasp as high as he dared before bringing it back to the school. It buzzed over the residential buildings and made it back considerably faster than it had taken to get out to the factory. Soon its light was visible over the buildings and Cameron could see the grounds from above a few minutes later.

The Wasp buzzed in and came down to floor level as the door started to buckle, a gap just big enough for a rat to squeeze through appearing at the bottom. The Wasp was in place as the first rat poked its snout through, and Cameron heard squeals as the nose was yanked back into the building. Soon enough though, the gap was not the only one, and students were taking pictures as quickly as they could to stop the oncoming horde. Cameron directed the wasp as Taelia directed, her vantage point above the door better at spotting the largest gap better than his camera view was. As he moved the Wasp around though, the movements were getting slower, he'd long since activated all of the lights, and the brightly lit machine was rapidly burning through energy.

Even as he had the thought, the lights suddenly flickered, struggling to remain on. A few of the braver rats came through, leaping back as the lights would flash on again, blinding them. After several minutes of this, the lights didn't come back on, and the Wasp was lost under the stampede of furry bodies seeking the huddled students at the other end of the roof. Lights flashed and rats squealed, but there was no way to stop the army, only slow it. The rats bunched for one final charge. Cameron let out a frustrated yell from his position above and away from them, where he could see all too clearly what was about to happen.

As the rats leapt, the ones closest to the door shivered and froze. Whatever caused it spread through them like a wave, a fast, freezing wave that stopped them in their tracks – or even in midair. Cameron didn't have much time to celebrate though, another wave came through, this one visible and blinding. He shielded his eyes as it came past him, and let darkness sweep over him like a shroud.

()()()()

Cameron brought the Wasp down through an open window, nobody noticing the faint buzzing it generated as they were absorbed in their books. He brought it around behind a dozing Jim, and hit a button. A thin metal arm folded out from the Wasp's back, and Cameron maneuvered it so that it was poised above Jim's comic book. He hit another button, and the arm descended, snatching the book from Jim. The Wasp shot upwards as the Gym teacher's eyes opened, awareness coming into life behind them.

"Hey! Who stole my book!" The Library's silence was broken by Jim's bellow, the massive man standing and looking everywhere but up. The students all looked up at the interruption, and Jim quickly conscripted everyone but the 'sleeping' Cameron and the members of the gang who were all still 'studying'. Cameron waited until nobody was looking, then let the Wasp drop the book into Jim's seat and buzz out a window before it was noticed.

The search was suddenly ended, as Herve picked the missing item up and waved it in the air, "I found it Jim! It was in your seat!"

The gang exchanged looks as Jim sentenced Herve with two hours of detention for the 'disruption of study hall' as it was supposedly clear that Herve had snatched the book to make a fool out of Jim. Cameron smiled as Herve stuttered, trying to come up with a way to prove his innocence, and finding none.

Cameron's smile turned to a grin as Taelia smiled at him, she hadn't gotten back at Nicolas and Herve for their incessant teasing of her during her first couple of days at Kadic.

Cameron's grin widened, _Now then, how can I get Nicolas to pay for his antics over the last few weeks? Hmm . . . _If possible, his grin widened more, _I think I know just the way to do it._

End of Chapter Thirteen

**Hey people! Wassup? I had almost forgotten that Cameron had robots until this chapter, and I don't think I've had him play the piano for a while, so I brought those in and just sort of rolled with it. If you liked the chapter, if you didn't like it, or if it was okay, please review! Seriously guys, I love getting reviews, as should any of you who write. Don't be shy about putting your thoughts down on the review sheets, if you have second thoughts about having a review up, send me a PM and I can delete it if you really want me to. I decided that each episode was about three weeks apart, seeing as episode fourteen marked one year of the gang's friendship with Aelita. So, Taelia has been at Kadic for about three weeks now. If you want the two of them to discuss their pasts, I'll probably put something up next chapter. Just remember, it took Cameron TWO MONTHS to tell Jeremie about Aelita and Franz, it'll take at least a month and a half to tell Taelia. Oh, and if you guys are hoping she'll see the Hermitage, well, keep waiting, she'll get there at some point. Probably.**

**Anyway, I hope you're all looking forward to the next chapter of Code Cameron!**

**Oh, for any Legend of Zelda readers out there, I have a LoZ fanfic up about . . . well, it's called Breath of the Sheikah, so you can probably guess a little what it would involve. It's a Twilight Princess Fic, so if you like that game, don't be shy, read and review!**


	14. Swarming Attack

**Code Cameron**

**Chapter Fourteen**

**Swarming Attack**

Cameron looked up as a knock sounded on his door. When he opened it though, there was no one there. He looked down and picked up an envelope, raising an eyebrow and shutting the door to read it when the first lines jumped out at him. He sighed at Taelia's signature, and then laughed softly, "Nice try Sissi, but your handwriting isn't anything like Taelia's." He slid the letter into his pocket and headed down to breakfast, "Well then, might as well . . . hey, Ulrich, what's up?"

Ulrich glanced at him for a moment, "Nothing's up, why do you ask?"

Cameron shrugged, "I don't know, you seem distracted, that's all."

The german boy shrugged, "Sorry, I just . . . it's nothing. see you later." He hurried off before Cameron could get another word out.

Cameron's eyebrows went up, "_something's up. I wonder if I should ask the gang about it . . ." _

His thoughts were interrupted as a feminine arm linked through his, "Well hello Cameron dear! How is your day going?"

Cameron pulled away from Sissi, "Fine until you showed up woman. I got your note by the way, you really need to work on your handwriting if you want to pass as Taelia."

Sissi drew back as if stung, "What are you talking about? What note?"

Cameron pulled the envelope from his back pocket and waved it in front of her, "This letter that you slid under my door this morning." He slid it open and began to read it, "Dear Cameron, I've wanted to tell you this for a while now, but I wasn't sure how to say it." He lowered the slip of paper and glanced over to the girl next to him, "Ringing any bells yet? Or would you like me to keep reading?"

Sissi glared at him and snatched the letter from his hand, "Okay so I wrote it, big deal." She fluttered her eyes at him, "Well now that we both know how we feel about each other, how about we see each other after class? Hmm?"

Cameron looked at her as if she were drooling on her shirt, "Uh, yeah no thanks. If you actually knew how I feel about you, you wouldn't be getting your hopes up so much." He darted down the rest of the stairs before she could form a response.

Sissi simply stood there for a few minutes, trying to process what Cameron had said. She was still standing there when Taelia came down behind her.

The redhead tapped her on the shoulder, "Are you planning on standing there all day? You'll miss breakfast and class airhead."

Sissi turned to look at her, "Oh, hi there. I think Cameron was planning on meeting someone on account of some note. Would you know anything about that?"

Taelia frowned, "Note? What note?"

Sissi shrugged, "I don't know. He just said that he got a note from someone and wanted to talk with them about it." She started back up the stairs, "I think I forgot something in my room. See you later."

Taelia watched her go, feeling a bit awkward, "Um, bye."

()()()()

Odd laughed and sat back in his chair, "I'm just saying Cameron, with the amount of time you've spent with her in the past month and a half, you two are in over your heads for each other. Just ask her out!"

Cameron would have thrown something at him, but the only thing on hand was his croissant. He took a bite of it instead, and pointed at Odd with his free hand, "Oh yeah? And how's your love life going Odd? I haven't had a girlfriend since Katie, and that was almost a year ago. I'm clean right now, and I want to keep it that way until I'm sure about someone." He took another bite of croissant and downed it with hot chocolate, "I've gotta go, I promised her that I'd show her how to really play the piano later, so I want to get it set up."

Yumi smiled, "Uh huh. Right, well we'll leave you to that. Could you make sure Jeremie actually starts sleeping? He's running himself ragged over all his programming."

Cameron nodded, "I'll make sure he gets off after ten o'clock, but I doubt I'd be able to make him sleep if I told him to stop at lights out." He finished his drink and stood, "Well, I should be going. See you later."

He passed Taelia on his way out, smiling in greeting and then frowning slightly as she brushed him off. He reached for her arm and paused, then withdrew his hand as he spotted Sissi smirking outside the lunchroom. He exited and descended the short steps, then walked the few steps to face her directly, "Alright Sissi, what did you do?"

Sissi's smirk grew into a smile, "I told her the truth. I just said that you'd gotten some note, and that you wanted to meet the person who'd written it." She gestured with a sweep of her arms, "and lookie here, you're talking to the person who wrote it. What a coincidence!"

Cameron glared and turned around, intending to return to the lunchroom, but then spotted Ulrich running for the dorms as if the four horsemen were after him. He stopped near the doors and slid to the ground, sitting against the wall as he sucked in air.

Cameron arrived at his side in a few moments and slid to a stop next to him, "What happened? You were running as if something nasty was after you." He turned to look as a series of yips sounded behind him and he scooped Kiwi up, "Hey boy, what's wrong with ya?" He ran a hand along the dog's side in an attempt to soothe the small animal, but Kiwi yelped again and wriggled free of his arms as Cameron's hand ran over a bump. Cameron knelt down next to the dog and parted the fur slightly, frowning in confusion as he saw the stings on his side. He looked over at Ulrich, "What happened? Did Kiwi pee on a hornet's nest?"

Ulrich shrugged as he stood up, panting slightly from exertion, "No idea. I just heard him yelping and then I saw a big cloud of insects or something flying at me. I don't have any idea what they were. How about you take Kiwi back to the room while I talk to Delmas, and then we should talk to Yolanda to see if she's got anything for bee stings." Ulrich pushed away from the wall as Cameron gathered Kiwi up again, moving into the dorms and keeping an eye out for any staff members.

What he ran into was almost worse.

"Hello Cameron! Could you answer a few questions for us about the - ooh! You've got a doggie?" Milly and Tamiya began bombarding him with questions as he frantically tried to quiet the two of them. They eventually relented, but only after extracting a promise that, in exchange for not telling anyone about Kiwi, he would give them an interview later.

He groaned as he ascended the stairs, pushing down thoughts of what they might ask him. He slipped into Ulrich's room and deposited Kiwi on Odd's bed before returning to the hallway and freezing when his eyes met an icy glare.

Taelia placed her hands on her hips and glared for another moment, "So . . . who did you want to talk to about this 'letter'? And why for the love of God couldn't you tell me about it, why do I have to find out about it from Sissi?"

Cameron raised his hands in a placating gesture, "Hey, cool off will ya? Sissi's the one who wrote the letter, and she signed it so that I would think it was from you. It's not my fault that she's a manipulative little imp, and it's not my problem that you're jealous because of it."

Taelia's glare turned to a look of surprise, and her cheeks reddened in a blush, "J-jealous? W-w-why would I be j-jealous because of some letter? Y-you're out of your mind!"

Cameron raised an eyebrow, "Oh, so you are jealous? Interesting."

Taelia huffed and turned away stomping down the hall. Cameron waited for the sound of the swinging doors to end before making his own way down the corridor, descending to the yard to meet with Ulrich. About halfway down the stairs, he smacked himself in the head, "Real smooth Cameron. Really smooth indeed. So now what, you gonna tell her that you were teasing her? Oh yeah, she'd take that much better." He shook his head to clear his thoughts and automatically started towards the park as he exited the dorms, then forcibly changed course to head to Yolanda's office. He stepped inside and nearly ran into Ulrich and Odd as they exited, a small jar of salve in Odd's hand. Cameron raised an eyebrow, "And you got that from her without telling her about Kiwi how exactly?"

Ulrich pulled up his sleeve and showed Cameron a sting of his own, "She said to apply generously every couple of hours."

Cameron nodded, then pointed to the sting, "Is that legit?" He whistled at Ulrich's shake of the head, "Nice artwork." He looked up into the noon sky, "Well, there aren't any classes today, and I can't tell Delmas anything about these bugs, so I think I'll take a walk."

Ulrich nodded and headed towards Delmas' office while Odd made his way to the dorms to tend to his injured dog. Halfway up the stairs, the blond was intercepted by Taelia.

The girl hesitated for a moment, then with conviction, asked, "Does Cameron say anything about me when I'm not around?"

Odd blinked, "When are you two not together again? Because from our viewpoint you've snatched him right off his feet." His tone was surprisingly serious for him. He shrugged, "he doesn't talk about you much honestly, but what does come out of his mouth," He caught himself before he said anything Cameron would hate him for, "You'll have to ask him about it. I don't think I'm at liberty to speak about his feelings towards you when he's not around." He waited a moment for her to speak, "Anything else princess?"

Taelia shook her head slowly, "No . . . thanks though. Do you know where he is?"

Odd shrugged, "He said he was going to take a walk. I'd try the park if you want to find him. He seemed pretty out of it when we were talking."

Taelia nodded, "Thanks Odd."

Odd grinned as they made their way past each other, "Don't thank me yet princess."

()()()()

Cameron sat down on the front step of the Hermitage and sighed, he'd gotten a course in programming from Jeremie, but he'd need a bit more experience organize a full-scale electrical grid for the house. He'd gotten a rudimentary system running through the place, enough to have the lights flicker, and the camera he'd found in the basement was operational atop the gate. If Sissi came back, he would know.

He laid back on the porch and looked up at the woodwork above him. His thoughts were swirling around Taelia, no matter what he turned them to, they always came back to center on her.

He groaned and sat back up, planning on heading back inside to work some more on the electrical grid. He'd have to bring Jeremie over at some point, the computer genius would probably know exactly what he could do. It was strange, he'd been sharing a room with the brilliant blond for almost a year now, and yet he'd never brought Jeremie to the Hermitage. He hadn't brought anyone for that matter, only Sissi knew, and not because she'd been invited.

He stood and turned around to open the door, then froze as he noticed a flash of color in the yard on the monitor he'd turned to face the outside. He turned slowly around, closing his eyes, then opening them slowly to make sure he wasn't imagining things.

Taelia was leaning against the gate, looking around at the Hermitage in slight admiration, "Nice place you've got here. Old family house?"

Cameron nodded and descended to the yard, "Yep. First family to adopt me. Since I was three when they left, it took me awhile to find it. Still, it's nice to have a place to myself. Though recently people have been following me here left and right."

Taelia shrugged, "I wouldn't have come all the way here, but you were a ways ahead of me. I didn't want to shout and attract attention, I doubted you wanted any." She took another glance around the yard, "I guess you're fixing the place up a bit?"

Cameron nodded, "I started a bit before you came to Kadic. It's been slow, mainly because I haven't had much time to come recently, but . . . it's more like a home now. Outside, at least. Inside . . . it's still a mess. I haven't really wanted to clean it up yet though, partly to finish the outside first, but also because it's almost like a memorial to Aelita and Franz. It's weird, I was three years old, but I remember most of my time there. And yet I can't remember what we learned in history class yesterday."

Taelia chuckled, "Selective memory. This place was good to you, History isn't good to you. So you remember this place better. And there's the fact that History is . . . well, history. No one likes it. At our school anyway."

Cameron smiled, and then offered her his arm, "Well, since you're here, would you like a tour?"

Taelia grinned back at him and linked her arm through his, "I wouldn't miss it for the world." Her grin faded slightly, "Sorry about earlier. I should have given you more than a minute's thought before thinking that you were . . ." she trailed off and blushed slightly, "Sorry. Anyway, what about that tour?"

Cameron stopped walking and grinned at her, "Thinking that I was . . ." he raised an eyebrow and his tone grew serious, "Were you about to say . . . cheating on you? We're not even dating and you're getting a bit overconsious about possible girls in my life."

Taelia blushed, "You- you wish I was about to say you were cheating on me! Like you said, we aren't together!" She pulled her arm out of his and stepped quickly away, "You- you arrogant little . . . argh!" She threw up her hands and leaned back against a fencepost.

Cameron raised a hand slightly, "Uh, you might not want to put weight on that."

Taelia glanced over her shoulder at the post she was leaning on, "Why not?" Her eyes grew wide as a loud creak came from the post and she leapt away from it, "Right. This place is old. I thought you were putting it back together?"

Cameron shrugged helplessly, "Hey, I don't have a job, and right now, I don't have any parents to mooch cash off of. My budget is pretty tight for stuff like this. Repairing a house is expensive." He looked around the yard, then back to her, smiling faintly, "Although, I do have enough for a movie, if you want . . ."

Taelia blushed and cleared her throat before speaking, "Are . . . are you asking me on a date?"

Cameron's face became tinged with red as well, "Uh, yes. I think I am."

Taelia grinned at him, "Well then, how could I refuse? Six o'clock next saturday work for you?"

Cameron grinned, "Works for me."

Taelia stood on her toes and placed a quick kiss on his cheek, laughing as Cameron stammered and tried to come up with something to say. She laughed as she dashed for the gate, "See you later!"

Cameron simply stood there, still trying to think of something for the next few minutes.

()()()()

Cameron slipped into the lunchroom, unnoticed by the students already munching on sandwiches or a different form of food. He scanned the lunchroom for Taelia, then sat at the Gang's usual table when he didn't see her anywhere. A moment later, the seat across from him was filled with a smiling Sissi, "So, how are you doing Cameron? I thought that since there won't be much time this week for us to go to a movie, maybe we could go see one next weekend, hmm?"

Cameron raised an eyebrow and swallowed his food, "Sorry Sissi, but I'm going to be busy. Earlier plans and all that." He glanced around, "Where's your fan club?"

Sissi scowled, "What could possibly be more important than going to a movie with me? That red-haired twig brushed you off already, I heard the two of you speaking in the hall after you put the mutt back in Dellarobia's room. Didn't exactly sound like the foundation of a relationship to me."

Cameron shrugged, "Well, perhaps you should have been at my house about fifteen minutes ago. You would have heard a very different conversation." He grinned, memorizing the scandalized look on Sissi's face, "Yeah, I'm going to a movie with the 'red-haired twig' over you. Deal with it. Oh, and uh, she's behind you."

Sissi stiffened and whirled in the seat, trying to come up with something to say to the enraged girl behind her. Then she frowned, "Hey! She's not here! What are you trying to pull?" She turned back, and did a double take when she beheld the empty table in front of her.

Cameron let out a breath as she stood and walked away,then took his food outside, sitting against a tree and enjoying the warming rays of the sun. He let out a sigh of contentment, simply, letting it all soak in.

A bird sang in the tree above him, a dog was barking somewhere on the street, and the wind pulled gently at the tree above him while a buzz grew in volume nearby.

His eyes snapped open and his gaze darted towards the sound. His eyes went wide as he saw the black cloud approaching, and it didn't take a genius to figure out what it was. He dropped his tray and booked it for the lunchroom, darting inside and slamming it shut behind him, only to open it again when a fist hammered on the window. He slammed it shut again as Sissi and her henchmen sprinted in, and he raised an eyebrow, "Where were you three?"

Herve was the first to catch his breath, "Sissi . . . gave Ulrich . . . a letter . . . said it was from Yumi." The geek heaved in another breath and straightened up, "She wanted to see the resulting fireworks, and she dragged us along with her. If we'd stayed here, then we wouldn't have even been in danger from the bugs."

Cameron rolled his eyes and went further into the lunchroom, scanning it for a mass of dark red hair. Finding none, he flipped open his phone and punched in a number without needing to think about it.

Taelia picked up on the second ring, "Hey Cameron! What's up?"

Cameron ran a hand through his hair, "Where are you? Tell me you're not outside."

Taelia sounded uncertain, "No, I'm in my room. Why?'

Cameron sighed in relief, "Close your window, lock it, and don't go outside. Probably best if you drop the blinds across it as well. Before you ask why, look out your window." He paused to let her have a chance to move before he continued, "Do you see the big black swarm around thr cafeteria?"

Taelia's voice rose in it's level of uncertainty, "Yeah, I see it. Some of it just broke away and headed this way. What is it?"

"It's a swarm of bees. Mean, nasty bees who aparently are out for a taste of us. So . . . you should shut your window and make sure it stays shut before they reach you. I'd send my wasp to see if I could scare any off, but the controls are all in my room, and I'm pretty sure I left the window wide open. So don't go for them."

He heard the sound of Taelia's window slamming shut, and then she spoke again, "Okay, it's shut and locked that way. What about you?"

Cameron grimaced, "I'm stuck in the lunchroom. We've shut them out, but . . . I'm pretty sure they'll find a way in eventually. So uh . . . don't come down here. No matter what." His phone beeped to let him know the battery was low, and he spoke urgently, "I've got to go, my phone is about to die." He put an edge of confidence into his voice, "I'll see you later."

He hang up before she could call him a liar.

A black spot flew by his face and he swatted at it absentmindedly, then hissed in pain as it stung his hand. His eyes widened and he grabbed a tray, smashing the bee into a smear on a table. He looked up as the buzzing intensified, and he shouted in alarm as bees began pouring in through a broken air vent. He dove behind the buffet bar and swatted at the swarm with Rosa and a couple others, yelling in pain as bees zipped around the trays and jabbed stingers into the defenders. A few more stings hit his arm, and then it simply went numb, leaving him to swing his tray with only his left arm. A minute later that arm was numb as well, and he sagged against the wall, trying to simply stay out of the way as long as he could.

A flash of white light, and then the world went dark.

()()()()

Cameron maneuvered the wasp through the obstacle course he'd set up for it, letting it hover a few feet in the air as a foot flashed into his crawler's line of view. He moved quietly over to the door, then yanked it open, revealing Sissi kneeling in front of it, an envelope dropping from her hand.

The girl shot to her feet and hid the envelope behind her back, "C-Cameron! Uh . . . well . . . I'm sorry. Wrong door."

Cameron looked down at the robot he'd placed outside the door at Ulrich's advice. He bent to pick it up, tossing it a little in his hand as he grinned at the small piece of hardware. He set it on his desk and plugged it in to charge, then went back to his obstacle course. He looked up again as he finished it, checking the time on the clock.

The Wasp moved over to the desk and he let it down onto the stand, then moved to the door. He wanted to get some more work done at the Hermitage before lunch.

What he didn't know however, was that a spiky haired blond had advised a certain redhead to follow him, and that following him was precisely what Taelia was planning to do.

**End of Chapter Fourteen**

**Author's Note:**

**Well to start, I'M BACK! (Insert Fanfare or cricket noises here, you pick).**

**So, if you didn't notice, I'm back, and man does it feel good! I haven't been writing lately because I was finishing school, but now I've got three months off to write, and only part of those months are going to be taken up with work. Anyway, here's to Code: Cameron, and thank you all for keeping with me!**

**In reply to Roguepizza's reviews in chapters two through four:**

**Sorry, but Cameron won't be going to Lyoko for a while. Probably not until the end of this season, or until I run out of things to make him do during the Xana attacks. From here on out, he'll probably be taking a more active role and finding out about Lyoko every few chapters or so, I'm not exactly sure. But yeah, the polls are up to get an idea of what he's going to be like on Lyoko, so I'm afraid that he can't go to Lyoko until I've gotten some replies on what he should use. That's not me being selfish, that's me leaving the power to determine his Lyoko profile to you. If I get enough votes on what he should use, then he might go to Lyoko early. Maybe, maybe not. I'm not certain yet. Anyway, thanks for reviewing!**

**So, I have some questions for all of you, please give me an answer! I don't know how to put multiple polls onto my profile, so this is the only way I know to let you see all of the questions.**

**What should Cameron's Lyoko Power be?**

**A) HyperCounter - Cameron freezes and waits for an enemy to attack him. When the attack is about to hit him, he moves faster than the eye can register to avoid the attack and destroy the enemy that attacked him. Costs 10% of his current life points.**

**B) Guardian - Cameron becomes invincible for a short period of time, and can shield the others from attacks. Lasts until he launches his own attack**

**D) Both**

**So, this is a little embarrassing, but I've just realized that I'm halfway through the first season, and I don't have a beta reader for this story. Or, any of my stories. So, if you'd be interested, send me a PM and I'll send you the chapters before I post them. Thank you all for staying with me for so long, thank you so, so much.**


	15. Just in Time

**Code: Cameron**

**Chapter Fifteen**

**Just in Time**

Cameron ducked as Taelia's foot whipped through the air where his head had just been. He followed the duck with a roll backwards and popped back to his feet, bringing his hands up into a defensive stance. He chuckled, "Well, you're not bad for a rookie. Still, you're a long way from - oof!" The last part was brought on as Taelia's foot nailed him in the gut.

He staggered back, "Ouch."

Taelia's hands shot up and covered her mouth, "Sorry! Do you feel alright?"

Cameron grinned and lunged forwards, tackling the girl while she was off guard. They hit the ground and rolled, breathing hard. Taelia pushed herself into a sitting position, pinning Cameron's arms to the ground with her knees, "Still think I'm such a rookie?"

Cameron grinned, then heaved her over to the side, flipping them. He pinned her shoulders down and his grin widened, "Yep. Definitely still a rookie."

Taelia smiled charmingly up at him and his grip loosened slightly as she spoke, "Hey, at least I'm learning."

Cameron's heart skipped a beat, and he stood up, offering her a hand, "Yeah. Better than most." He pulled her up and smiled, "I'm still not sure why you want to know how to fight."

Taelia grinned disarmingly, and then the ground rushed up at Cameron as his feet flew out from under him. He landed with a grunt and Taelia laughed, offering him her hand, "So I can keep you on your toes prettyboy." They shared a laugh and she smiled, "Hey, if you know how to fight, you might as well teach me right? Besides, it's a lot cheaper than going to dinner. And I want to know how to throw Sissi over my shoulder next time she makes a pass at you."

Cameron grinned, "Well, that's better than you throwing me over your shoulder if I do something wrong."

Taelia grinned as well, "That too."

There was a loud smack as Cameron facepalmed, and then laughed lightly, "Well, remind me not to do anything to get me on your bad side then."

"Don't do anything to get on my bad side." She laughed at his befuddled expression, "What? You told me to remind you, you just didn't tell me _when _to remind you."

()()()()

Cameron slid into his chair in the lunchroom with a tired sigh as Ulrich was telling Odd that with all the hair Kiwi shed, that he could knit Odd a new Kiwi. Cameron chuckled, "Well at least you don't share a room with Jeremie. Half the time I get back to the dorms, I have to clear my bed of machine parts before I get to sleep. And as often than not, said machine parts don't belong to my machines."

Jeremie rolled his eyes and was going to reply, but a high pitched girl cut him off, "Did you say dog? Oh I absolutely adore dogs." Sissi fluttered her eyes at Ulrich and Cameron, "Hey, can I sit down?"

"No." Cameron and Ulrich were almost in sync with their denials.

Sissi laughed and bent down slightly, "In fact, I adore dogs so much that I'd be willing to keep my mouth shut about the mutt that Odd has holed up in your room, if of course you promise to be nicer to me."  
Cameron raised an eyebrow, "And what would, 'being nicer to you' entail?"

Sissi laughed and slipped into the seat next to him, "Oh, if you or Ulrich were willing to spend some time with me for say . . . a month, I'd be alright with not telling Jim about your dog."

Cameron sighed, "A month huh? Well . . . you'd have to take it up with Taelia if you want me. Although Ulrich I'm pretty sure is still single."

Sissi shot to her feet, "That red-haired twig?! You've got to be joking!" She regained control of herself and leaned towards Ulrich, "Well Ulrich dear? My lips are sealed if you agree . . ."

Yumi glared at the pink-clad girl, "Listen Sissi, I'm warning you, if you say one word about Kiwi I'll-" the plastic cup shattered in her hand, and the group stared at her in surprise.

Sissi stuttered, "O-oh," and walked away quickly, followed by her henchmen.

Jeremie recovered first, "You okay Yumi?"

As Ulrich and Yumi walked off towards the infirmary, Odd leaned across the table to Cameron, "So, did I hear you right? You and Taelia are together now? Since when?"

Cameron cleared his throat nervously, "Not long, a week or two." He blushed at Odd's exultant cries, "What are you so happy about?"

Odd punched the air, "Oh I was so right about you two!" He stood and started doing a victory dance when a cool voice cut through his mood, "Right about who two Odd?"

Odd froze and turned slowly around to meet Taelia's emerald gaze. He suddenly felt as though he was a deer staring into a pair of headlights, "Uh, well . . . we all thought that you and Cameron were such a good couple together and so . . . you know now that you two are dating we were right." He gulped, "Uh, why are you looking at me like you're considering hurting me?"

Taelia kept up the cold stare for a moment longer, then let it drop and smiled widely, "Well does that mean you consider me part of the group now?"

Odd was caught off guard by the sudden change in demeanor, "Uh, well sure I guess." He looked at Jeremie, "Right?"

Jeremie glanced up as he finished his food, and then shrugged before swallowing and speaking, "Yeah, sure. I don't have a problem with it." He stood somewhat abruptly, "Well, I have some work to go finish, so I'll see you guys later."

The remaining three watched him go, and then Odd spoke up as well, "I'd better go check on Kiwi. Have fun you two!"

Cameron's face turned a bit red as Odd left the two of them alone, and then Taelia sat down across from him, "They . . . don't really like me, do they?"

Cameron looked down at his food, "I don't know what their problem is. They just . . . don't know you. Not like I do." He looked over to the window, "Though in all honesty, I feel like they're not telling me something. I'm not sure about it though, it just . . . feels weird sometimes."

Taelia tilted her head to one side, "Elvis Presley weird or Sissi Delmas weird?"

Cameron laughed, "More like Men in Black weird." He shook his head, "I'm probably just imagining it though."

Taelia reached across the table and took his hand, "Hey, stop mulling over the past. You were three years old, it's a miracle that you even remember them at all. Much less down to the details that you can remember them by." She looked down at her food and took a bite, "I swear, you've got a selectively photographic memory."

Cameron smiled, "Everyone's got a photographic memory. It's the recall that's hard. For instance, I can't remember what years World War Two went down from history class, but I can remember that the Hoppers had a little house in the mountain for vacations. We didn't go during the year I was there, but there were a few pictures around the house." He fished around in his bag for a moment before coming up with a small silver chain, adorned with intricately shaped pieces of metal hanging from it, "And of course, I found this not too long ago." He slid it across the table to Taelia, "Aelita's charm bracelet. Lots of custom stuff on there. The house is a pretty good rendition of the one in the pictures, so I'm guessing it was custom made. Same with the little eye thing, or target, or whatever you want to call it, that's on the designs that Franz left for me under his bed. Then there's the elf, that would be my sister's doll, Mr. Puck." He picked Aelita's bracelet as Taelia slid it back over the table to him, and dropped it into his bag, then slung his bag across his shoulder, "I'd better go and get some work done, Jeremie might appreciate a break from his programming, and I'd certainly appreciate some assistance on my science homework. See you later."

Taelia half turned in her chair, watching him go, "See you later."

Neither noticed the quiver in her cup on the table.

()()()()

Cameron paused outside of his room with his bag slung over his shoulder, hand on the knob. He'd paused because he could hear the rest of the gang talking inside.

"When I materialized the hair I . . . I hit a button I shouldn't have. And so I- I damaged the annex programs." Jeremie's voice sounded tight, as if he were berating himself for doing something wrong.

Yumi sounded confused, "Annex? That doesn't sound too bad."

Cameron took the opportunity to slip into the room unnoticed as Jeremie spoke again, "That's what you think. The program linking Aelita to the towers is completely screwed up. If she enters the lyoko code she'll be completely reformatted."

Ulrich cleared his throat slightly, "Meaning what?"

Jeremie looked straight at his computer screen, where a wireframe figure flashed in and out of view, "She'll disappear forever."

The gang gasped, and Cameron decided to speak up, "Have you tried rerouting the circuits and backing up the primary index files?"

The gang whipped around like children caught stealing from a cookie jar. Yumi stepped forward, "Cameron? What are you doing here?"

Cameron lifted his bag and pulled a couple of binders out of it, dropping them to his bed, "Dropping off unnecessary weight. My turn, what are _you _all doing here?"

Jeremie started to stand, "Haven't you ever heard of knocking?"

Cameron's retort was swift, "Haven't you ever heard of 'it's my room too?" He let his features contort into a slight glare, "Or would you like the other possible response to that, the one about keeping secrets from your friends?"

The other four exchanged uncertain glances, not sure what to reply with. Both his points were valid, and Cameron had ways with words that could turn a bad day around . . . or make you feel like a complete jerk.

In this case, the gang felt like complete jerks.

A new screen opened up on Jeremie's computer, "You know Jeremie, a program can be . . ." the girl on the screen trailed off as she saw Cameron, "Debugged. Umm, who's he again? I think we've met before."

Odd glanced at the screen, "Uh, Aelita, this is Cameron. Cameron, this is Aelita. Aelita, you met him way back when Xana took control of the citywide mainframe and sent a couple trains on a collision course. And again when I accidentally spilled candy on Jeremie's desk and set your materialization code and then we had to use it to get Yumi out of the digital sea."

Aelita's face cleared of confusion, "Oh! Right, thanks." She turned her attention back to Cameron, who was staring at her like he'd seen a ghost, "So your name is Cameron? Nice to meet you. Uh, again, I suppose."

Cameron's eyes were wide, and he tore his gaze from Jeremie's computer to Jeremie himself, "Explain. Now."

Jeremie gulped nervously and looked to Yumi and Ulrich, "Would one of you like to do the honors this time?"

Yumi sighed, "From the top then. Short version, we found a massively powerful computer in an old factory on the riverbank. When Jeremie booted it up, he woke Aelita up as well. Unfortunately, another being inhabits Lyoko. Xana, an immensely dangerous program that wants to turn us into dust beneath his heel. So we fight him while Jeremie works on a way of bringing Aelita to Earth. He almost had it this morning, but he-"

Cameron raised a hand to cut the flow of words, "Hit a button he shouldn't have. I heard that part. So where do I fit in to all of this? Apart that you're trying to materialize a carbon copy of my adoptive sister without telling me. What were you trying to do, give me a heart attack when she walked into class?"

Yumi glanced at everyone else, "Well, we hadn't thought that far in advance yet."

"Clearly." Cameron sighed and folded his arms, "I assume that this is what Jeremie really works on at night, and that he's not going to stop until he's fixed this bug. You guys get to class, make up an excuse for our absence." He looked at them in amusement as they began to veto his decision, "Seriously? I might not know about Lyoko, but I know about programming. Enough to help out here I'd expect. So get going, you'll be late to class."

As the rest of them filed out the door, Cameron pulled his desk chair over and looked at the screen, "alright, so you said that the annex program was damaged right? Pull up a model of the most recent version when it was fine." As Jeremie pulled up the model, Cameron nodded, "okay, and now today's version," he compared the two versions as they appeared side by side, "So all we need to do is change today's version to match the earlier version." He flipped his laptop open and plugged it into Jeremie's computer. His fingers began flying across the keyboard, "Alright, we should probably start with . . ."

()()()()

Cameron slumped back in his chair and bit his knuckle. Jeremie had gone to the factory a while ago thanks to Kiwi making enough noise to break his concentration. Cameron had simply tied the dog's collar to Jeremie's bed and raided Odd's room for dog treats. So now Kiwi was munching on the dog biscuits, only stopping occasionally to howl. So now the only problem was the monumental task facing him, Jeremie, and Aelita. An idea struck Cameron and he leaned forward in his chair again, speaking into the headset that linked him to Jeremie and Aelita, "Have either of you tried rebooting part of Lyoko and replacing the bugged annex program with the one from the rebooted sector? That might do the trick."

Jeremie's reply came a moment later, "We would have, but we don't know how to reboot one sector without rebooting all of Lyoko. And the sectors would all disappear for a few moments, but that would be enough time for Aelita to fall into the digital sea. So that's not really an option."

Cameron frowned, "Well I'm out of ideas then. Aelita, how's simply hacking your code going for you?"

Aelita's voice was slightly staticky, "Not too badly. I think I've gotten it mostly organized to the point were a few codes could get most of it, but then there's the problem of actually finding those codes and applying them. Mostly it's become a few large groups separated into a series of subgroups. Here, take a look for yourself."

Cameron rubbed his chin as he examined the codes, "Wow. These are pretty complex. As well as being pretty screwed up. Frankly to me these look almost like human DNA sequences. In fact," he hit a few buttons and pulled up a screen with the coding running down it, then punched in another code to organize it into a double helix, "Wow, it looks exactly like human DNA organization now. Here, take a look." He sent the picture to Jeremie and Aelita, then swiveled it around to locate the problem areas, "Alright, I think I might have something. It may not be the annex program, but it might still help. There's a pattern running through her coding, like the DNA groups that we use to identify groups of DNA. Now down near the bottom of the strand, there's a change in the pattern. I'm not sure, but-"

He was cut off as Aelita spoke suddenly, "Jeremie, Xana's woken up."

Jeremie's cry of despair was quite clear, "Not now of all times! Are you sure?" At Aelita's confirmation, he continued, "This is bad, I'll alert the others."

Cameron grabbed on to the desk as the building shook, "Well it seems to me like he's using ultrasound or something to attack the school." He snatched his laptop off of the desk as the school shook again, "Okay, that's it. I'll meet you at the factory, this is not a healthy environment to be working in." He darted out the door with his computer and almost ran into Odd on the other side. He spoke in a rush, "Xana's attacking, probably high frequency ultrasound to break the school. We've got to get out, now."

Odd nodded and rushed into the room to grab his dog, "We figured, and Jeremie contacted us as soon as he found out. Ulrich and Yumi are en route to the factory. We should meet them there as soon as-" he stopped talking as they spotted a light shining under Milly and Tamiya's door. Cameron continued towards the stairs as Odd shoved into their room to alert them to the danger. He was halfway down the stairs when the building shook again, and then he was falling.

He landed hard on his left arm and yelled as something cracked inside it. He waved his good arm towards Odd's cries of alarm, "I'm okay. Get away from the edge!" He rolled onto his back and hissed in pain, then heaved himself to his feet. His bag was slung across his back and he worried briefly about the state of his computer, but then he started worrying less about his computer and more about himself. He staggered down the stairs, occasionally needing to hop over a small gap, but there were no more cave-ins like the one that had brought the stairs down from under him. The cool night air hit his face as the ground shook again and he made his way slowly over to a tree before sagging down against it.

He looked up at the stars and hissed in pain again, "Well this sucks." His eyes widened as the entire dorm split apart and one side of the split sank downwards. He whistled in surprise, "Well, this might not be as bad as Odd has it." He sighed and let his head sag back against the rough bark of the tree, "Okay, let's see. She looks like Aelita, sounds like Aelita, but . . . she's not Aelita, right? Maybe this is what the Men in Black were chasing Franz for. This . . . Lyoko place, maybe they want it for something." A jolt ran through his arm and he muttered a few choice words, "I'd better get away from here, fast."

He punched in a number on his phone, and Jeremie picked it up before it could ring twice, "Yeah Cameron?"

Cameron groaned as he made his way to his feet, "I'm outside the dorms. Odd's stuck inside, apparently with Milly and Tamiya."

He could almost hear Jeremie nodding, "We know. He told us a bit ago. Ulrich is on Lyoko and Yumi should be on her way now."

Cameron nodded as the Japanese girl ran across the campus, "Yeah, it looks like she's in a hurry towards the park. I'd follow, but I busted my arm getting out. I don't think I'll be much help anymore. I'll try to get everyone away as quickly as possible, but that's probably all I can do."

"Okay. By the way, that bit about Aelita's code being similar to a DNA sequence, I think that it's the trick to fixing her code. And maybe even bringing her in. In fact, I'm almost done with the repair program to patch her code up. Should be ready in a couple of minutes."

Cameron nodded as he moved away from the dorms, "Good. Whether or not she's my sister, you'd better keep her safe. Got it Jeremie?"

"I'll do my best, but it's in Ulrich and Yumi's hands now."

Cameron would have smiled, but his arm hurt too much, "Well, I-" his phone beeped once before he pulled it away from his ear to see a black screen. He muttered another choice set of words and slid the dead phone into his pocket. His hand moved to cradle his arm as Yolanda noticed him and rushed over, moving quickly to set it straight and wrap it in thick bandages.

The nurse clicked her tongue, "What happened to it?"

Cameron grimaced as she finished and gave the bindings a final tug, "Fell down a floor and landed on it." His face twisted into a thin smile, "Guess that's what happens when you don't watch where you step."

He watched the school with anticipation with the rest of the crowd. After a while, slim hand slipped into his and he turned his head to see Taelia. He looked back to the dorm as the ground shook again and the building sank lower and lower.

A flash of bright light, and everything was gone.

()()()()

Cameron jumped a foot in the air as something poked him in the side, just below the ribs. He turned and sighed slightly as he saw Taelia standing behind him, smiling innocently with her hands behind her back.

Cameron let out a soft laugh and shook his head a bit, "You're never going to stop now that you know where I'm ticklish, are you?"

Taelia made a show of looking all around, "Who? Me? Tickle you?" She flashed a wide smile, "Now where would you get that crazy idea?"

Cameron laughed, "Alright, I kind of deserve it as payback. So, can I help you with something?"

Taelia's smile shrank just a tiny bit as she took on a slightly more serious tone, "Can you teach me to fight?"

Cameron frowned in confusion, "Fight? Why would you want to know how to fight?"

Taelia shrugged, "Just in case, you know? A girl never knows when someone will try to make a move on her boyfriend." She grinned again, "And this girl wants to know how to kick them into next week when they try."

Cameron grinned, "Well alrighty then. Meet me in the gym after class?"

Taelia grinned as well, then rose to her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, "It's a date."

**End of Chapter Fifteen**

**Author's Note:**

**I'm bad at writing romantic stuff, I know. It's either sappy, or it's just bad. But leave a review if you liked the chapter! Or if you didn't like it, or . . . please just leave a review.**

**Now, since people have started reviewing more, I'm going to start replying to reviews more.**

_**Funman1111:**_

**I did actually consider giving Cameron psychic as a Lyoko power, since he has the robots that became Xana's monsters in his room, but I felt like HyperCounter and/or Guardian was enough. I also briefly debated on having him use magic on Lyoko, but my sister pointed out that Aelita already uses a kind of magic, and since she's kind of like the princess of lyoko, Cameron shouldn't use magic. Thanks for the ideas though. As for the 'UPDATE OR DIE' bit at the end of your review . . . well, here's my update, please let me continue my existence.**

**Garrett4976:**

**You asked for the next update, so here's my schedule; I'll try to update every week between Thursday and Saturday. I will not be able to update or write between August 5th and August 9th, as I'll be out of town. Until then though, look for a chapter every week or so.**

**Guest:**

**Thank you for voting, and like you asked, I've gone further with Cameron and Taelia's relationship. I can't promise I'll be much good at the romance writing for a while, but . . . well, they say practice makes perfect, so I guess I'll be getting some practice during this story.**

**Aleeta6:**

**Of course Taelia was following Cameron, Odd told her to. And she wanted to get an answer as to his feelings for her. So she followed him to the Hermitage. And got the story, etc.**

**A quick question regarding people following Cameron to the Hermitage:**

**Should Milly and Tamiya follow him there next? Or should I stop having people track him to his house?**

**A) Milly and Tamiya should follow him there.**

**B) Don't have them follow him.**

**C) Stop having people follow him to the Hermitage.**

**I know it might be a bit early to have votes up on Cameron's Lyoko powers, since he won't be going until the end of the season, but still, drop a review or PM me if you want to have a say in what he's like on Lyoko. Or, go to my profile page and vote there. But please let me know what you want him to use!  
**

**What should Cameron's Lyoko Power be?**

**A) HyperCounter - Cameron freezes and waits for an enemy to attack him. When the attack is about to hit him, he moves faster than the eye can register to avoid the attack and destroy the enemy that attacked him. Costs 10% of his current life points.**

**B) Guardian - Cameron becomes invincible for a short period of time, and can shield the others from attacks. Lasts until he launches his own attack**

**C) Both**


	16. The Trap

**Code: Cameron**

**Chapter Sixteen**

**The Trap**

Cameron opened his eyes blearily and yawned, wishing that the morning sun would go back down. When nature did not heed his wishes, he swung out of bed, rubbing his eyes before preparing for the day. He looked over to where Jeremie was sleeping peacefully - in bed for once, rather than on his keyboard. The genius sat up groggily, making his own preparations for the day. The daily schedule was much to his liking, no History, no Italian, but Math and Science in excess. fourteen months almost to the day after he'd come to Kadic, and he felt like he was at home. More than he did when he had a family and a house to go to, and as much as he felt at home in the Hermitage. The gang was a better family than he'd known since . . . forever, but now, he felt as though something was going on behind his back.

And he intended to find out what that thing was.

()()()()

As Ms. Hertz's lecture droned on . . . and on . . . and on, Cameron dutifully typed away at his keyboard. Jeremie was taking notes, Odd was drawing Kiwi, Ulrich was . . . doing whatever it was he usually did, probably daydreaming about Yumi. The class was yanked out of their reverie by the shrill sound of the bell ringing, and Cameron smiled slightly, "_One down, one to go."_

He glanced around for Taelia as the mob of students moved to Math class, and then remembered that she was down in the infirmary with a head cold. She'd sent him a message to come see her after class, apparently she had something to talk to him about.

An arm linked through his, and Cameron flinched away as Sissi's shrill voice sounded in his ear, "Hello there Cameron dear! Since your," Sissi swallowed as if eating something nasty, "_girlfriend_ isn't with us today, maybe we could go some place after class? Say . . . the movies?"

Cameron attempted to yank his arm free of the girl, then glanced at Ulrich and Odd when he couldn't, "That sounds great Sissi. Oh, except I'm not Odd. Meaning that I don't date two girls at the same time." He finally managed to drag his arm away from the girl, "Oh, and then there's the fact that I already told Taelia that I'd be by to talk to her after class today. So yeah, you might have better luck with Herve or Nicolas."

Sissi turned red, and he could hear her muttering something as the tide of students swept him away. He slipped out of the stream near Odd and Ulrich, then glanced over his shoulder to scan the crowd for Sissi. Turning his attention back to his friends, he asked urgently, "She didn't follow me did she?"

Odd went up onto his toes, looking for the atrocious yellow headband, "No, I think that she already reached the class. What was that all about, she making another pass at you with Taelia out sick?"

Cameron nodded, "It's almost worse now that Taelia and I are actually a couple, it's like Sissi needs to do more to compete with her. When is she going to get the picture?"

Ulrich scoffed, "Sissi? Realize that we don't like her? Wait forever and a day, maybe she'll start to come around." He stepped into the hallway as the crowd began to thin out, "We should get to class or else we'll be late."

Cameron and Odd followed him, and Cameron glanced at the spike of yellow hair next to him, "Did you study?"

Odd laughed, "Odd the magnificent needs no studying! I'll just get answers from Jeremie."

Cameron laughed as well, "That should work for the first five minutes. What happens after he finishes and gets dismissed?"

"Simple, I'll copy off of you!"

()()()()

Cameron set his pencil down and pushed the sheet of paper away from him, setting it near the edge of the table as Mrs. Meyer walked by. The teacher picked it up as she walked by, nodding and signaling to Cameron that he was allowed to leave.

He went straight to the infirmary, nodding to Yolanda as he passed by. The nurse tried to stop him, but he simply pointed to the door, "Taelia asked me to come down to talk to her. Is uh . . . that a problem?"

Yolanda blinked, "Of course, no problem at all. She's just sick, so try not to catch anything hmm?"

Cameron nodded and slipped inside, grinning as he caught Taelia's eye. He pulled a chair over to the bed and sat down, "Hows the food in this joint? I hear hospital meals are the only thing to look forward to."

Taelia grinned, "I've got a cold, not cancer. I'll just be here for a day or so until Yolanda thinks that I'm not contagious anymore." Her grin softened slightly, "I take it you got my message?"

Cameron nodded, pulling out his phone, "Must be a serious matter, calling me to the Emergency Room rather than telling me over the phone. Is something wrong?"

Taelia sighed, letting her head fall back and staring up at the ceiling, "You might say that. A man came by today, from the orphanage. Apparently there's a family in town looking for a kid who's old enough to look after themselves while they're away at work. And apparently the staff suggested me, since I'm the 'most responsible one they have'. The family is rich, well connected, and basically there's no way that I'm not getting adopted."

Cameron tilted his head to one side, "Okay, so new family, big allowance, you'll be the darling little girl who gets whatever she wants with a snap of her fingers as an only child, I fail to see the problem here."

Taelia closed her eyes and sighed again, "The . . . my future parents, I guess, also came by. They said that they've lived here for a long time, but his work is taking him out of the area. And by 'out of the area' they mean New York City."

Cameron swallowed hard and sat back in his chair, "So, they'll be adopting you, and then moving to New York? Which isn't even in the country." He blew out a breath and ran a hand through his hair, "And we thought that dates are expensive now. What happens when they have to happen internationally?"

Taelia nodded unhappily, "They won't be leaving for a few months, and so I'll be attending Kadic until they do. They at least asked me what I wanted to do until we leave, and I chose this." She took a deep breath and let it out heavily, "I'm going to-"

Cameron's hand snapped across her mouth, "Don't say, 'I'm going to miss you' okay? You're not leaving yet, you're not even close to leaving yet. So let's at least enjoy the last few months we have together okay? Besides, it's not like it's goodbye forever. We can keep in touch, and a rich family can afford to take international vacations if they want. I'd say it's a safe bet that we'll see each other at least a few times before we graduate from school. Or . . . maybe we won't. But let's be optimistic about this at least, huh?"

Taelia raised her eyebrows and flicked her gaze down to where his hand was still covering her mouth. He hastily pulled it back and she replied with a hint of normalcy, "Okay, you win. No saying goodbye until it's goodbye." She pulled him into a hug, "Thanks Cameron. For everything."

Cameron sighed slightly, "You're more than welcome, and what did I just say about saying stuff like goodbye before you guys are leaving?"

Taelia laughed, bringing a grin out on his face, "I get it! Now go . . . do whatever it is that you did before I got here. Heaven knows you haven't had any time alone since I got here, take advantage of the fact that I'm forcibly bedridden and have a little fun by yourself. And I won't speak of this again until I leave. Deal?"

Cameron took the offered hand and shook it, "Deal."

After the door closed behind him, he let out a breath and frowned, "What did I do before she got here again? Maybe I should ask Jeremie for help. That's something I remember doing plenty of."

()()()()

The gang turned to face him as he slumped against one of the vending machines and slid to the ground, head held between his hands.

Odd was the first to speak, "Either it was a Sissi attack, an onslaught of the press about your relationship with Taelia, or . . . something happened in your relationship with Taelia. Do I get door A, B, or C?"

Cameron glanced up at him, then back at the ground, "None of the above. Not really, at least. Everything's fine with Taelia and me, Milly and Tamiya haven't caught wind of it - yet - and the daily Sissi attack has already happened."

Ulrich leaned against the wall, "Well then what's gotten you down in the dumps? It's gotta be something."

Cameron pushed against the vending machine until he was back on his feet, "Odd's third guess was the closest. Taelia's . . . being adopted. By a rich married couple in town."

Odd shrugged, "So what's the big problem? If they're in town, then she can still come to school here right? It's not like she's leaving the country."

Cameron turned his head to look at the purple-clad boy, "And before I was interrupted, I was going to mention the fact that they're moving to New York in a few months."

Odd was at least chagrined enough to look sorry, "Oh . . . so, I guess she is leaving the country. Sorry dude."

Cameron shook his head and pulled a coke out of the machine, "In a few months, yeah. And we've agreed not to talk about it too much, so please don't bring it back up. It's enough just knowing she's gonna be gone without being reminded every few minutes." He drained his drink and tossed the cup into the garbage, "And since I have nothing better to do, I have to ask, is there something you guys aren't telling me? I've felt like you guys have been whispering behind my back for a little while now, and you act weird any time that I mention Aelita." He paused, "Like those conspiratorial glances that you three just shared. Is there anything I should know?"

"No."

"Nah."

"I've got nothing."

Cameron shook his head tiredly, "If you say so." His hand moved to his head, "Wow, headrush. Delayed headrush, that's new." He started back towards the dorms, doubling back once he'd left the group out of sight. He smiled thinly as Odd and Jeremie ran off towards the park, and muttered to himself, "Nothing happening behind my back huh? Yeah, my foot they're telling me everything. And now, I'm gonna find out what it is."

He followed the other two at a distance, eventually ending up at the red door in the boiler room, left slightly ajar by the other two. The door led to the sewers, and from there Cameron followed the sound of Odd's voice crying out in enjoyment with what was undoubtedly a skateboarding trick. Cameron looked around, grabbing one of the other skateboards leaning up against the wall. It was easy enough to follow them, between listening and simply deducting their probable course depending on where they'd been. Cameron didn't have the best sense of direction, but it seemed to him that they were heading in the direction of the river.

He drew to a halt next to a series of rungs set into the wall, it was obvious that the ladder was where Jeremie and Odd had gone, judging by the skateboard and scooter laying against the wall. He scrambled up the ladder, coming out onto a bridge on the riverfront. He could hear Jeremie and Odd talking not far away, something about a birthday present for someone. And then Odd mentioned something digital, but their voices were too far away to make out.

He pulled himself out of the sewer hole and slid the panel shut, darting over to the edge, then yanking his head back as he saw Odd and Jeremie walking across the floor below him. As he took another peek over the edge, he realized that the floor was far below him. He snatched one of the ropes before they went out of sight, and darted down the stairs behind them. Following them was a pain, especially since they clearly knew their way around the factory, while he had to follow in a strange area.

()()()()

Cameron jumped a foot in the air as a crash resounded through the building, catching Odd and Jeremie's attention. He dove behind a machine before they spotted him, and stayed down until he realized that every machine in the room was moving, including the one he was hiding behind. He grinned sheepishly as Odd and Jeremie spotted him, their eyes growing bigger than plates. He jumped to his feet and walked over a little uncertainly, dodging a couple of machines on the way over. His arms were spread peacefully, "'Sup guys? Factory party?"

Jeremie glared at him, "What are you doing here Cameron?"

Cameron's easygoing manner dropped at his friend's tone, "Following a hunch. My turn, what's wrong with my being here? I thought that you guys weren't keeping secrets from me. Unless you don't count lying to my face as keeping secrets. What is this place? And what are these machines doi - ouch!" He grunted as a machine slammed into his back, sending him flying onto a conveyer belt. He rolled to the side as something sharp and metal stabbed down at him, then fell off when he didn't stop rolling.

He pushed himself back to his feet as the others ran out of the room, following them closely. They were waiting at the top of the stairs they'd escaped on for him, catching their breath.

Odd was the first to speak, "Alright, we're sorry for keeping secrets from you. And we're really sorry about lying to you. But right now, Ulrich and Yumi are in trouble and we've got to go help them. Are you willing to help us?"

Cameron nodded, "I guess. What do we need to do?"

Jeremie started walking, "Odd needs to go somewhere, do you think you could head down the elevator shaft and help the others out? Yumi said that Ulrich's arm was in bad shape, and apparently you're not our only visitor tonight. Sissi followed them here, and now she's stuck down in the elevator as well. So now we've got to find a way to get them out, and a way to stop the machines. The second bit is easy - sort of - but the first part is going to be harder."

Cameron shrugged, "Can't be that hard. Someone can just climb down and help them out of the elevator. Is there a hatch on top?"

The others exchanged glances, then nodded. Odd looked back to him, "Okay, I'll go with Jeremie to stop the machines, you climb down the elevator shaft and help the others. Yumi should be on her way up already. Stick with us and we'll show you the way to the elevator."

Cameron nodded and followed the other two through the factory, almost running into them when they suddenly stopped near the entrance to the boiler room. He glanced at the boiler and grimaced, "That doesn't look normal, or good, considering what's happening in the machine room."

Jeremie nodded, "I don't like the look of it either."

Odd looked across the room to where a door was visible through the steam, "Ready for a hundred meter dash guys?"

Cameron laughed and took a place next to the others as Odd counted down, "Three, Two, One, Go!"

The three of them sprinted across the room, vaulting over a pipe and skidding to a halt in front of the door, Odd yanked it open and they darted through as the boiler exploded, the massive boom shaking dust from the walls. Cameron looked around the room they'd entered and whistled appreciatively, "That's some serious hardware."

Jeremie nodded as he took a place at the computer, "Odd get to the scanners. Cameron," He jerked a thumb to point behind him, "Elevator's there. Rungs are on the side furthest from the button."

A startled cry came from the doors as they hissed open, and Cameron instictively shot a hand out, grabbing Yumi's wrist before she took a shortcut back down to the elevator. He pulled her to safety and flashed a grin, "What would you do without me?"

Yumi rolled her eyes, "Be ready for the doors to open on me and not plunge into an elevator shaft."

Cameron acted hurt, "Why Yumi I'm insulted. Are you insinuating that it was my fault that you lost your balance?"

"Yes." Came the short reply, then Yumi sighed, "Sorry Cameron, I didn't mean to be rude."

Cameron shrugged, "Your boyfriend's hurt, and stuck in a broken down elevator with Sissi. I doubt that Taelia would be very courteous if she were in your position."

Yumi flashed a tired smile as Jeremie ordered her and Odd to go to the scanners. Cameron heard Odd saying something about the Boiler not being able to take it as they scampered down a set of rungs into a room below. Cameron glanced at Jeremie, "Well, here goes. What are the scanners?"

Jeremie glanced at him as his fingers flew over his keyboard, "Think of them as teleportation devices. You go inside, the doors close, and you're sent to a virtual world called Lyoko. That's how we're going to fix this whole mess, but it's going to take time, which is why it would be helpful if Ulrich and Sissi were here instead of a broken down elevator. We don't know what might be happening to them."

Cameron nodded and knelt by the empty shaft, straining his ears. A faint rushing sound echoed up at him and he grimaced, "Sounds like water to me. Or something like that. I guess I'd better get going huh?" He looked down into the shaft and put a hand to his head as a dizzy spell hit him, "Man, great time to be afraid of heights."

Before he could change his mind, he swung out onto the rungs set into the wall and began climbing down. As he passed another set of doors for the elevator, he could hear a whirring sound, and then doors opening. He gave the matter only a little thought and kept climbing down, down, and still further down. He never looked down, so it was a bit of a surprise when after what seemed like hours of climbing, his foot hit a solid surface instead of more rungs. He looked down and sighed in relief as he saw the elevator, but then his eyes went wide when he realized that water was pouring in. A hatch was open and he could hear thrashing within.

Cameron hurried over to the hatch and looked down, Ulrich and Sissi were up to their necks in rapidly rising water, and even as he watched, the water rose to their chins. He stuck a hand down, "Ulrich! Sissi! Time to go!"

The two looked up, their faces revealing solid relief at the idea of rescue. Sissi immediately jumped up, trying to grab his hand, but the water kept her from moving as much as she'd hoped, and all she got was a wave she'd caused in the face. Cameron sighed in irritation and pulled his head and hand back, moving so that he was hanging upside down into the elevator while he held on with his legs. he let his arms dangle down and Sissi instantly grabbed onto his hands, holding on for dear life as he pulled her up. His stomach muscles screamed in protest, but he managed to pull the girl free, dropping back into the elevator the minute she was safely on the top. He let his hands drop back down to Ulrich, but the boy was afloat in the water, eyes closed a few inches below the air. Cameron pulled himself back out of the elevator and yanked his shirt and shoes off, handing his phone to Sissi. He swung his feet around and dropped fully into the icy water, wrapping his arms around Ulrich's waist before kicking off the bottom, back up towards the hatch. Their heads broke the surface and he let Sissi drag Ulrich up before heaving himself back over the side.

Cameron smiled in momentary triumph, but that died when he felt the water rising around his ankles. He sighed and picked up his shirt and shoes, rather cross that they'd gotten wet anyways. He shrugged and pulled them back on, shivering as he rubbed his arms. Sissi handed his phone back to him and he dialed Jeremie's number. The other boy picked up almost instantly, "Jeremie, I've got Ulrich and Sissi out of the Elevator, but there's no way that Ulrich can make the climb back up. The water's rising fast, how are you doing on your end?"

Jeremie's reply was slightly garbled, and he had to repeat it a couple of times before Cameron got the message, which he relayed to Ulrich and Sissi, "Yumi and Odd are doing alright on Lyoko, they've just gotten to the tower. It should be offline in a few seconds."

Cameron felt the water rising impossible fast, already to his chin, he pushed off the bottom as it kept rising, treading water as best he could while he kept the phone to his ear, "A few seconds might be a few seconds too long for Ulrich. He's barely staying up. Would this be a good time to mention that I'm hydrophobic?"

"Probably not. Though fortunately for you, it doesn't matter at the moment." Cameron pulled his phone away from his ear as Jeremie yelled through his headpiece - probably without thinking about the fact that Cameron's ear was on the other end of the connection - "Return to the Past Now!"

Cameron squeezed his eyes shut as a flare of white light flashed through the small space, and then everything went dark with a startling sense of deja vu.

()()()()

Cameron opened his eyes blearily and yawned, wishing that the morning sun would go back down. When nature did not heed his wishes, he swung out of bed, rubbing his eyes before preparing for the day. Jeremie slept peacefully on his standard pillow - twenty six plastic keys. Cameron shook his head as he swung his legs out from under the sheets, then pulled his arm back and tossed his pillow at Jeremie.

The computer genius jerked awake with a startled cry and straightened his glasses before highlighting and deleting the long string of R's that he'd been typing out in his sleep. He glanced somewhat reproachfully at the pillow lying innocently on the floor as Cameron got dressed, "Did you have to throw your pillow to wake me up?"

Cameron shrugged, "I could always go back to whacking you. You know the simplest solution to this dilemma would be for you to go to sleep in a bed like a normal person. The rest of the gang agrees with me, you're wearing yourself pretty thin with your programming lately." He paused as he pulled a shirt over his head, "I'm considering unplugging your computer an hour or so after lights out if you don't start getting some more sleep." He yawned again and picked up his toothbrush, "If you're still sitting there when I get back, I am going to start unplugging your computer. So let's get ready for class hmm?"

Jeremie raised an eyebrow, "Grumpy today for some reason?"

Cameron looked back from where he was halfway out the door in surprise, "No, why? He reviewed what he'd said and winced slightly, "Oh, yeah, that was kind of mean. But it's true. Start getting more sleep or I'll tell the gang. And they'll back me up. You worry us sometimes Jeremie, staying up so late, it's not healthy. Especially over such a long period of time."

His phone beeped as he exited the room and he glanced down at it, opening the message from Taelia, "_I'm in the infirmary with a cold. Can you come see me after class? It's important. Taelia."_

His thumb darted across the keypad, typing out his response, "_That sounds ominous. Yeah, I'll be there right after the Math test. Cameron."_

**End of Chapter Sixteen**

**Hey everybody!**

**I'm incredibly mean to my OC's. Cameron's whole life has been a pretty sad story, orphaned three times in ten years, and now in a family that sent him to Kadic when they received Franz's delayed invitation for him. Four different families, the current one doesn't have time for him, and now his first girlfriend that he really loves has been adopted by a family that's about to move across an ocean. I'm a jerk to my own characters. I suppose that's partly from not wanting to be overly nice to them and make them Mary Sue's, but still, I'm a jerk. If you want another example, take a look at my other story, "Breath of the Sheikah". Legend of Zelda Twilight Princess story, I'm a jerk regarding my character's lovelife there as well.**

**Anyway, if you liked it, review it. If you didn't like it, review it anyway please, I like reviews, can you tell?**

**Reply to review**

**Funman1111:**

**Thanks for the review, you have an . . . interesting form of feedback. A little confusing, but I got the update or die part pretty clearly. Little bit unusual, having a conversation with characters in a review. Rather amusing though, so thanks for reviewing again. I promise to keep updating, but it will probably be a bit sporadic, more when I finish a chapter rather than every Thursday or Friday. I want to keep my life so I can keep writing, so I'll update quickly rather than delaying.**

**Anyway everyone, Keep Reading, Keep Rocking! You all are so awesome, and this story has hit 2,335 views. I love you all SO MUCH! Thank you for your continued support!**

**Undeadmonkey8, over and out . . . for now. *Fade to black accompanied with evil laughter***


	17. Laughing Fit

**Code: Cameron**

**Chapter Seventeen**

**Laughing Fit**

Cameron checked his watch to see how long Ms. Hertz had been laughing. It was weird, he'd never _ever_ seen her laugh, and neither had anyone else to his knowledge. He looked across the room to where Taelia was sitting, and smiled slightly. She looked to all the world like she was asleep, but . . .

His phone buzzed and he looked down at it.

"_Has she ever laughed in class before? Or out of class for that matter?"_

Cameron grinned and slipped his hands under the desk to punch in his reply, "_No, not that I know of. From what Jeremie and Odd are saying, they haven't either. Do you think she's taken something?"_

Taelia's message came an instant later, "_Possibly. Those canisters under the window might be full of gas for something. Laughing gas maybe?"_

Cameron glanced up and grinned when he caught her looking at him. He was about to send a reply when Ms. Hertz started talking, "The gas I've just inhaled in a small quantity is called Nitrogen Oxide, N2O," She paused to succumb to the laughter again, "for those of you interested in chemistry of course." Another laughing fit was followed by, "Although it's better known as laughing gas," she demonstrated why it was called that for a few moments, "You can see why this gas is sometimes used in hospitals to - ha ha! - relax patients who are going to be operated on."

Cameron raised an eyebrow as Odd spoke up in front of him, "Not a bad idea. A laughing attack after an appendix attack."

Ms. Hertz overcame the giggles long enough to continue, "But let's try to stay serious about this. In strong doses this gas can be highly toxic. And provoke very serious modifications in perception and even lesions on the nervous system. Sometimes even fatal. So one can as the saying goes, literally 'die laughing!" She paused to laugh some more, "Only one thing can volatilize it . Water. All you need is one drop to neutralize it." She giggled for a moment before chugging a bottle of water, "Enough of that. Get out a sheet of paper for a surprise quiz."

Cameron groaned with the rest of the class and did as she commanded.

()()()()

Yumi sat apart from the group, sitting with her arms folded across the back of a bench. Cameron was actually with the other guys for one of the few times since he and Taelia had started dating.

Ulrich sighed, "She's been sulking for two days. Nothing seems to be able to cheer her up."

Odd put his hands on his hips, "I could try some of my jokes. Maybe that would help?"

Cameron shook his head, "No offense Odd, but the only thing she'd be laughing at is your sense of humor."

Odd grinned, "Exactly!"

Cameron sighed, "That was supposed to be withering sarcasm."

Ulrich shrugged, "Thanks Odd, but no, I'd rather go and talk to her myself.

As the german boy walked towards Yumi, Jeremie stepped up to fill his place, "Do you think that Ulrich can make her smile?"

Cameron shrugged as he turned back to the dorms, "Maybe. But he'll either do it or die trying."

Odd laughed, "It's about as likely as Julia Roberts calling and inviting me to dinner."

Cameron glanced down as if his phone was ringing, and pulled it out of his pocket, flipping it open, "Hello? Oh, Hi Mrs. Roberts. Wait, what was that?" He handed the phone to Odd, "It's for you. Something about dinner."

Odd snatched the phone from his hand, "Hello? This is Odd Dellarobia, and you're phone didn't actually ring, did it Cameron?"

Cameron grinned as he took his phone back, "Nope. Just messing with you." He glanced down at his watch, then back up at his friends, "Later, I've gotta go meet Taelia."

He returned to the dorms, Odd and Jeremie exchanging glances. Then Odd burst out laughing, "He's head over heels for that girl. Cameron has fallen as hard for Taelia as you have for Aelita."

Jeremie nodded, then the second part of what Odd had said sank in, "Wait, what?" He looked to the space Odd had just occupied, then turned to and fro, looking for the other blond, "What did you just say?!"

()()()()

Cameron through the corridors to math with his head in the clouds. It wasn't until he was nearly to his next class that he realized that his thoughts had been on Taelia since he'd left the guys. He smiled and started singing softly as he waited for Taelia.

"_Hey soul sister, ain't that mister mister on the radio, stereo, that way you move ain't fair you know. Hey soul sister, I don't wanna miss a single-"_

"You've memorized that song? Wow. I've really got to get you out of your room more." Taelia's voice threw Cameron out of his singing mood and he felt blood rushing to his face.

He cleared his throat and shrugged, "Well, I have a pretty limited cash flow, so there's not much that I can do in town."

Taelia chuckled and held up her wallet, "Well then it's a good thing that my foster parents have little time and a lot of money. Come on, let's hit the town after class. My treat." She put a finger on Cameron's lips as he tried to protest, "If you're about to say that the guy is supposed to pay for the girl, I wouldn't. The guy is supposed to have a modicum of sense if he expects the girl to respect him. And if that sense means that he recognizes that the girl is the one better suited to paying for dates, well," she shrugged innocently, "I guess that the guy will have to consider his empty wallet."

Cameron sighed and shook his head, "I'm never going to win a debate with you, am I?"

Taelia smiled and patted his shoulder in mock sympathy, "No. Sorry dear." She laughed and headed into class, Cameron following her into math a moment later.

()()()()

"Cameron really, where are we going?" Taelia sounded a bit impatient, but Cameron couldn't blame her, she'd been blindfolded and led along by the hand for a good ten minutes now.

He reached the point he'd chosen and spun her around, facing her out towards the city, "You can open your eyes now."

Taelia let her eyes flick open and she gasped, "Oh wow."

The lights of the city spread out beneath them like a blanket of stars, matched only by the scattering of real stars above them. Cameron set a blanket out and laid back on it, gazing up at the universe, "I found this place a few months after I came to Kadic. Originally you wouldn't be able to see the city for the weeds and grass, but I . . . 'borrowed' a weed whacker from the school's garden shed and well, you can see the results for yourself." He sat up and looped an arm around Taelia's shoulders, "Do you like it?"

Taelia let her head fall back onto his shoulder and she let out a quiet laugh, "I love it. Thanks, it's worth the bumps and bruises I got getting here blindfolded."

Cameron cringed slightly at the sarcastic tone in her voice, "Yeah . . . sorry about the blindfold. I didn't want you to see it too early. Hey, at least I didn't let you fall."

Taelia smiled and wrapped her arms around him, "True. And it is worth it." She looked up at him, "Thank you for showing me your home away from . . . school. It's amazing."

Cameron smiled down at her, "Well, it's certainly better when I'm here with someone than all alone, I'll say that much for certain. And I'm infinitely happier that it's you here rather than someone else."

Even in the dark, he could see Taelia's features turn red, "So who else knows about this place?"

Cameron shrugged, "I have no idea. No one as far as I know, but I suppose it's likely that someone has found it as well."

Taelia snuggled closer to him, "Well, thank you for showing me."

()()()()

Cameron jerked awake as his elbow slipped off his knee. He was watching the auditions for the school play, but between the music and the fact that Herve was taking a hundred and some tries to get the Romeo lines right, he'd nodded off a few minutes ago. Herve and Nicolas were having a fight over the lines - again - and this time it looked as though it might come to blows.

Cameron stood and stretched, making his way over to the doors. Unfortunately, Sissi's shrill voice made him groan, "Where are you going Cameron? You're next!"

Cameron sighed and turned around from where he had his hand on the doorknob, "I'm not playing Romeo Sissi. Especially not for you. Maybe you should give some thought to why Herve is so desperate to play that particular role?"

The four of them all turned as Odd burst out laughing, and Cameron frowned in confusion, "What? That wasn't that funny."

Sissi stormed down from her tower and snatched a water bottle, upending it over Odd's head, "That oughta teach you!" She continued as Odd blinked in confusion, "And stay away from the play now, forget about playing for it!"

Cameron raised an eyebrow as Odd accompanied him out the door, "What was that all about? Did you inhale some of Ms. Hertz's laughing gas while Sissi was distracted or something?"

Odd shook his head, "I have no idea what happened, I just couldn't stop laughing. Maybe you're onto something with the laughing gas, but I didn't take it on purpose."

Cameron made a noncommittal hmphing sound, "Well, anyway, do you know if Ulrich's made any headway on Yumi's depression issues yet?"

Odd shrugged, "He didn't say, apart from the fact that he had a plan this afternoon. I'm not sure if he's put it into motion yet though."

()()()()

Cameron's eyes snapped open as the door to their room opened. He was apparently a light sleeper, but since he always slept with earplugs due to Jeremie's tinkering, he hadn't known that before now. Between his date with Taelia, and the auditions, he hadn't had the energy to do anything but flop onto his bed and fall asleep. So now Odd was waking him up by sneaking into the room.

Cameron watched with slitted eyes as Odd and Jeremie spoke in muted tones, and heard a feminine voice emanate from the computer's speakers. He waited until after they'd left, then threw back the blankets and slipped into a pair of shoes.

He moved quietly after the two of his friends, following them to the science building, and then to the class they'd occupied earlier that day. Jeremie was kneeling in front of the door, fiddling at the lock with a pair of picks. Odd stood watch over him, looking the other way down the hall.

Cameron walked up to the two and tapped them on the shoulders, "Would you like some help with that lock Jeremie?"

The pair of blonds leaped a foot in the air and Jeremie glared at Odd, "I thought you were keeping watch!" He hissed at the spiky haired blond angrily, "Now look!"

Odd raised his hands defensively, "Hey, I was looking the other way. He snuck up on you too."

Cameron sighed, "I'm going to butt into your little debate here, and ask why you're trying to get into the science lab?"

Jeremie and Odd exchanged defeated glances, and then Jeremie looked back at him, "We think that the gas Ms. Hertz was showing us earlier has been let out, and we want to check on it." He gestured to the locked door, "Care to let us in?"

Cameron rolled his eyes and knelt in front of the door, picking at the tumblers with Jeremie's makeshift lockpick, "Don't you have a real pair of these things Odd?" He felt one of the tumblers give and moved in to the next, "You could have this unlocked in no time flat."

The lock clicked and the three boys grinned as Cameron stood, "Alright, let's check on this gas."

The three boys tiptoed into the chemistry classroom and moved quietly over to the pair of canisters that Ms. Hertz had brought in for her hysterical demonstration.

Jeremie knelt down in front of one and sighed as the nozzle on the canister squeaked, "Hmm, looks like we're out of gas if you'll pardon the pun."

Cameron frowned, "Where could it have gone? It's not like it grew a pair of legs and walked away."

Odd looked around the room, and his eyes locked onto an air vent, "Maybe it couldn't have walked away, but it could have floated away." At the other two's questioning glances, Odd pointed to the grate high up in the wall, "I'll bet it escaped through that. Which means it could be anywhere in the school by now."

Cameron sighed, "So we have laughing gas possibly making it's way into every classroom and building in the school. Make sure to bring a water bottle to class tomorrow." Then he turned to the other two, "So, while I have you here, can we talk about something?"

Jeremie exchanged a glance with Odd, then looked back at Cameron evenly, "Shoot."

"What's going on that I don't know about?"

The other two sighed, and then did a quick match of rock paper scissors. Jeremie groaned as he played rock to Odd's paper, and he turned back to Cameron. He shut his eyes for a moment and took a deep breath, "Would you trust me if I told you that you're probably better off not knowing?"

Cameron shook his head, "Not a chance."

Odd grinned, "Besides Jeremie, he's surprised us plenty before, I'd say that he's better off knowing than not. We won't be able to keep him in the dark forever, goodness knows we haven't so far."

Jeremie nodded, turning and gesturing for Cameron to follow, "Come on, let's go back to the rooms. I think it'll be easier to explain there."

Odd's eyebrows raised in surprise, "Seriously Jeremie? You're the one who keeps saying that he shouldn't be told about," he glanced at Cameron for a moment, "that _particular _part of our . . . activities."

Jeremie sighed as he opened the door to the science lab, "And as you've just said, he's surprised us plenty before. Let's leave it at that, huh?"

Cameron raised an eyebrow and was about to turn to Odd to ask for an explanation, but a sharp pain zipped through his head and he blacked out as the floor rushed up at him.

Odd tossed the textbook he'd clocked Cameron with onto a nearby desk, then bent down and hoisted the unconscious boy over his shoulders, "Trust me Cameron, it's better this way."

Jeremie stuck his head back in at the sound of Cameron hitting the ground, "What did you do?!"

Odd would have shrugged, but his shoulders were already starting to ache from holding Cameron's weight, "Don't sweat it Einstein, I know what I'm doing. Err, I think. I just don't think he needs any more problems dumped on him right now, with Taelia about to leave."

Jeremie sighed, "Maybe you're right. You didn't give him a concussion did you?"

Odd shifted Cameron's weight slightly as he shrugged, "I don't think so. His head is as hard as a rock."

()()()()

_The Hermitage was looking like new, as if it had never been abandoned. Cameron let his hand trail along his father's piano as he walked by, and smiled at the pictures lined up on the mantle. A creak sounded upstairs, probably Aelita walking around in her bedroom. Franz was in the kitchen, making something for dinner, hopefully pasta, Cameron liked pasta._

_Something in the back of his mind ate at him though, and the more he looked around, the more he felt that something was wrong with what he was seeing. Flashes of the Hermitage as it had become kept coming into view the more he tried to block them out. He stepped out of the living room and his face fell when he realized that the house was empty except for him._

_Then the creak sounded upstairs again._

_Cameron darted up the stairway, almost tripping on his way up. Aelita's door was ajar, light spilling through to the landing._

_He hesitated before knocking, and the door swung open. Her cheery features greeted him, "Hey Cameron! Is something wrong?" Cameron felt numb, and she must have seen that on his face, because her cheery smile faded, "Yeah, I know. Dad and I aren't really here, we're . . . somewhere else. The Men in Black made us leave, but Dad didn't want to take you with us because you were so young when we left." Her hand came up and touched his face, "But look at you now! You've grown up so much, Daddy would be proud of you. I know I am."_

_Cameron closed his eyes and clasped his hands behind his back, pinching his palm hard. He opened his eyes and pinched it again, a bit harder, and everything flickered for a moment, like a computer screen on the brink. His shoulders fell, "This is just a dream, isn't it?"_

_Aelita smiled sadly, "Yes, it's a dream. And no, this isn't one of those dreams that's actually real. But it might be, some day."_

_Cameron frowned, "When? When will it be real? You left a note saying I'd see you both again, is ten years not enough time? I don't want vague promises anymore Aelita, I want some answers. Please."_

_Aelita kept her smile up, but her eyes looked sad, "I know Cameron, I know. We've kept you waiting a long time, but it's going to be a bit longer before you can see us again. And you can't expect us to be the same when we meet again. But, you wanted answers, and whatever Daddy would think, I think you deserve some." She turned away from the door and moved to sit down on her bed, patting the mattress next to her for him to sit next to her, "I suppose the first question is, 'where did you go?"_

_Cameron nodded, "Yeah."_

_Aelita sighed, "I can't tell you that, though I would if I could. Like I said, this is in your head, so if you don't know something, neither do I. But we do have a few things to talk about, you just can't get at them without a bit of a nudge."_

_Cameron nodded, "Okay, what do the Men in Black want with you and Dad?"_

_Aelita smiled, "I don't know all the details, but I got a few things out of Daddy before we left. First, what do you know about them?"_

_Cameron shrugged, "They work for the government somehow, they came after Dad on the grounds of him being a criminal, but that's about it."_

_Aelita nodded, "Now, what did Daddy always do best that they may have wanted him for?"_

"_Robots." Was the first thing out of Cameron's mouth, but then he shook his head, "No, computers." At Aelita's nod, his confusion grew, "Why would they want him for computers?"_

"_Maybe it was something he did with computers that made them come after him?" Aelita's smile was devious, "Or maybe, it was something to do with something that he did so well, and so often, that some of them felt something was wrong and tracked him down to settle their . . . deja vu."_

_Cameron's eyes widened, "Wait, what's the connection between my friends and Dad?"_

_Aelita shrugged, "I only know what you know, you tell me."_

_Cameron pursed his lips as he thought, "Well, Jeremie is pretty good with computers, so . . . is there a connection between him and dad more than the others?" Aelita's smile kept him thinking, "Something between Jeremie and Dad . . . I'm not going to find that connection here am I?"_

_Aelita shook her head, "I doubt it, but you might find it outside your head. Say . . . on a hard drive?"_

_Cameron swallowed, "You're saying that I shook hack into Jeremie's computer?"_

_Aelita shook her head, "Not Jeremie's computer, no. I would never tell you do do something like that to a friend. But a different computer, one that they know about that had something to do with Dad perhaps? We don't know if one exists, but it's a better lead than anything else you have right? Just . . . keep an eye on them for the next little while, see if you can find something along those lines."_

_The scene flickered and Aelita sighed, "Looks like you're waking up. So I'll have to cut this short. We will be seeing each other again Cameron, but not unless you take an active role in finding us. And I don't mean hacking into any government files to find out what they wanted with daddy - although I'm not saying that you shouldn't - I mean finding where we went." The scene flickered again, and Aelita sounded surprised, "Wow, you wake up fast. See you in a bit Cameron, don't keep me waiting huh? You know how impatient I can get."_

_Cameron laughed, "Yeah right, you can wait longer than a statue. But I'll try to make it quick."_

_They stood, and Aelita gave him a hug, "Alright, good luck Cameron, see you soon. Oh, and enjoy your time with Taelia while it lasts, it might be less than you realize."_

_Cameron frowned, "What do you mea-"_

_The scene flickered again, froze, and blacked out within a second._

()()()()

Cameron sat bolt upright in his bed, chest heaving as he took in air. He grimaced and put a hand to his head, blinking a few times to focus his vision. His head _really _hurt, and he couldn't remember what he'd hit it on to make it hurt so much. He glanced over to see if Jeremie was awake, but the bed was empty, and Jeremie's other pillow - his keyboard - was also vacant. He heard the sound of someone running in the hallway, and he darted outside to look. The hall was empty, but a quick sweep outside via his Wasp showed Jeremie and Odd running towards the gym. Cameron started outside, but realized that they had too much of a head start on him for him to catch up to them. Instead, he tracked them with the wasp, darting through the red door they'd left open in the boiler room. Through the sewers, the sound of wheels and rush of water covered the buzz of the Robot's wings, though Cameron had to keep a fairly close eye on the two of them to keep up.

He held his breath when the two of them stopped, and the link between his drone and his TV showed them climbing up a ladder. He hesitated, then flew his robot to the ladder and stopped it there, pulling his shoes on and activating the robot's GPS. His screen switched to a layout of the town, and a red dot near the waterfront marked where his drone hovered, waiting for directions.

()()()()

Cameron slid to a stop outside an old factory, breathing hard from his run over. He'd taken the overland route, he doubted that he could have retraced the path that Odd and Jeremie had taken through the sewers. His robot rose up through the manhole leading to the sewers once he'd slid the cover open, and then it dropped into his hand as he walked forward into the factory. Something in his gut told him that the abandoned factory was where Odd and Jeremie had gone, even though there was an entire town they could have vanished into.

Cameron ducked behind a pillar as Jeremie rushed by, pursued by a thick fog. He waited until the boy had ran through the entrance of the factory before leaving the shadow provided by his pillar. He darted to the ledge and looked down at the floor below, raising a hand to his head as vertigo hit him hard.

A pair of ropes dangled in front of him, and he grabbed one, wrapping one leg around it and sliding down, landing softly on the ground. An elevator waited nearby, dropping smoothly down as he pressed the button. As the doors opened, Cameron's eyebrows went up in admiration of the technological mainframe in front of him. He took a seat at the computer and cracked his knuckles, "Alright then, let's see what we can see."

Odd's voice came out of a small headset on the keyboard in front of him, "This isn't a good time to leave me Jeremie. The welcoming committee looks really mean, and I don't feel good." There was a pause before Odd spoke again, "Jeremie?"

Cameron hesitated, then put on the headset, "Sorry to disappoint you Odd, but Jeremie can't come to the phone right now."

Odd sounded surprised, "Cameron? What are you doing at the factory? You know what, don't answer that, you probably just followed us. Again. Can you tell me if there's a warning on the computer in front of you?"

Cameron looked over the screens, "Well, there's a wireframe picture of you with a warning sign on it, if that's what you mean. And the computer keeps saying that there was a data transfer error, and that the virtual envelope is compromised. Is that what you mean?"

Odd started to respond, but instead yelped as if something had hit him, "never mind about that, I see two monsters shooting at me, are there any others you can see?"

Cameron glanced over the screens again, "Looks like it's just you and them, as far as I can tell. Anything else you need?"

Odd took a moment to respond, "Sure, keep me updated on my health points."

Cameron nodded to himself, "Sure, no problem." He kept one eye on the card depicting Odd as he turned his attention to the rest of the computer, his fingers flying over the keys. He muttered to himself, "And while I do that, I'll pump this thing for info about what's going on here, because I have no idea." Odd's card flashed and drew Cameron's attention, "Wow, do you usually lose forty life points per hit? Because you just went down to sixty."

Odd didn't reply, probably being too busy with fighting . . . whatever it was he was fighting. So Cameron instead turned his attention to the Diary of Jeremie Belpois that he'd just pulled up - mostly by accident. He scrolled through the days quickly, rapidly learning to slow down whenever he heard 'Lyoko' or 'Xana' and particularly when he heard his own name. Naturally, he played anything regarding Aelita over again, especially when he was mentioned as well. His brow furrowed in confusion at first, but that confusion quickly turned to hurt, then sorrow, and then anger as he learned more and more about what had been happening behind his back.

He almost didn't reply to Odd when the boy spoke again, "Hey Cameron, can you help us through this maze?"

He took a moment to reply, only doing so when a girl's voice came through over the headset, "Cameron, right? Please, can you help get us through here? We need help."

Cameron sighed, "I assume that you're Aelita? The one that Jeremie found on Lyoko?"

Aelita sounded a bit apologetic, "Yes, and I'm guessing that you're not terribly happy with them for not telling you about all of this sooner. But please, put that aside for a while so that we can stop Xana and set things right."

Cameron frowned, "So you can erase my memory again?" When she didn't respond, he continued, "Yeah, I know about that. I went through this thing's files while you two were frolicking through the mountains, so basically I know _everything_ that you've been up to." He sighed and pulled up the map of the labyrinth, tracing it's passages with his eyes, "Take the second right, the first left after that, and then continue straight until you hit a crossroads." He continued looking through the maze as they followed his directions. Odd stopped moving as he entered the crossroads, and Aelita spoke up again, "Next path Cameron? Odd's not looking too good."

Cameron nodded, "Straight on past the first three turnoffs, then turn left and you should be through." He sighed and rested his head on his hands, his elbows on his knees, "I suppose you'll be remotely triggering the return to the past from the tower?"

Aelita sounded apologetic, "I have to, the fact that Jeremie isn't where you're sitting means he's in trouble, and that means that Ulrich and Yumi probably are too. The Return to the Past is the only way to make sure they're safe."

Cameron nodded, "I've got that much from Jeremie's journal. Just," he sighed, "Just . . . oh I don't know. Spare a thought for me now and then, and maybe bring me on board next time?" He felt sad, knowing that he'd found everything he'd wanted to find, but that he was about to forget it all. He sat back in the chair as Aelita's marker shot up the tower, and sighed as a beam of white light shot up out of the holomap.

Jeremie's voice emanated from the speakers, and the beam of light turned to a dome as Cameron spoke with Jeremie's recording, "Return to the past now."

()()()()

Cameron watched with Odd and Jeremie as the play went along. His hand strayed to the rope that would raise the bush that Ulrich was planning to hide behind. Jeremie turned his head and nodded, and Cameron heaved on the rope, raising the bush concealing Ulrich and Yumi.

He moved quickly to the crack in the curtain as the crowd burst into uncontrolled laughter, and he grinned, "Looks to me a bit like Romeo was cheating on Juliet." He listened as Sissi shouted ineffectively at the crowd, "And Juliet doesn't sound too happy about it."

**End of Chapter Seventeen**

**Author's Note:**

**So I ended the 'date' scene there because sometimes I'm a sappy romance writer (See my story 'Don't See Me Cry') and sometimes I'm horrible at writing anything emotional. And I'm a bit rusty, I haven't written any legit romance in a couple months. And I felt like that scene was a bad example of romance, so I stopped it before I totally screwed up.**

**I'm still looking for a beta reader if anyone's interested, drop a review or send a PM if you'd like to help - and get a sneak peek at every chapter!**

**2,600 views, 25 REviews! I love you guys so much!**

**Replies to reviews:**

**BreadLoaf:**

**Thank for the idea! I was at a bit of a loss as to how I should explain Lyoko to Cameron this time around, so the dream bit kind of helped out. As for how Cameron got to said dream . . . well, he woke up with a headache, and Odd regrets it. To some degree. It might not be quite what you were expecting, but I do try to follow the ideas of the series, and a return to the past . . . well, it's kind of absolute. If it were just a memory wipe, sure, I could make him dream of something he'd had erased no problem, but when something never happened . . . that's a bit harder.**

**Guest:**

**I feel what you're saying, I really do. And I understand where you're coming from in asking for Taelia not to move away. Unfortunately, she has to, because I don't like the idea of having Cameron keep Lyoko a secret from her when he finally goes. I really like Taelia, but for Cameron to go to Lyoko, she has to either not be around, or she has to be part of the group. Or at least that's how I see it, because the only other option is for Cameron to start lying to her about their activities so that she doesn't know about Lyoko, and I really don't like that idea. I also don't want to bring her into the group, because she wasn't even supposed to be in the series past 'The Girl of the Dreams' and I didn't want to make her even bigger than she already is. Plus, I agree with the series directors, having Taelia and Aelita together at the same school, let alone the same grade and/or classes would raise a lot of questions. And then there's the fact that Taelia knows who Aelita Hopper is, thanks to her relationship with Cameron, so she would be asking a lot of questions as well. So . . . she's got to go. And frankly it was either have her adopted and moved away, or have her currently in an adoption family and have that family have an accident that puts her back in the foster system, rather than being at Kadic. And I feel that giving her a family and then killing them off would be mean, even for me.**

**So yeah, sorry, but the bottom line is: Taelia is going to move to New York. And, I'm sorry.**

**Sorry this one took a bit longer than the other chapters usually do, but I was on a trip to the beach for a few days, so I couldn't get any writing done. On the note of trips, I won't be able to write at ALL next week, because I'll be at a Cross Country Camp from the fifth to the ninth. So yeah, no writing is going to get done then, which means I probably won't post another chapter for another two weeks. So . . . I hope you all enjoy this chapter, because I can't get another one up for a while.**

**What should Cameron's Lyoko Power be?**

**A) HyperCounter - Cameron freezes and waits for an enemy to attack him. When the attack is about to hit him, he moves faster than the eye can register to avoid the attack and destroy the enemy that attacked him. Costs 10% of his current life points.**

**B) Guardian - Cameron becomes invincible for a short period of time, and can shield the others from attacks. Lasts until he launches his own attack**

**C) Both**

**You guys should know what's coming next, but since I haven't done this in a while, you might not.**

**Like it? Hate it? Please review!**


	18. Claustrophobia

**Code: Cameron**

**Chapter Eighteen**

**Claustrophobia**

Cameron rolled his foot back and forth over the ball, waiting for Nicolas to make a move. When the boy lunged forward, lashing out at the ball with his foot, Cameron rolled the ball over on top of his foot, then kicked it into the air, sailing over to where Ulrich waited for it. As he raced up the field, Cameron dodged around Nicolas and sprinted down alongside him, passing the ball between himself and Ulrich just because they could. As Herve faced off against Ulrich, Cameron moved near the goal, ready to tap the ball in.

The ball flew over Herve's head as Ulrich flipped and hit the ground after an awesome bicycle kick, and Odd headed it over to the goal, somehow without messing up his . . . unique, hairdo. Cameron took a single step to his right and lifted his knee, hammering the ball past the goalie and into the net. He grinned as the three players facing them groaned, and bumped chests with Odd.

"Seven to One!" Odd crowed, reveling in their lead, "this is turning into a rout!" He did a victory jig as Sissi threw the ball away in disgust at her team's lack of ability. The three of them turned in surprise as a new voice chimed in, "You guys need a little help?" The newcomer grinned as he juggled the ball, "Name's Theo. I just came into town." He looked over to Sissi as she sized him up and he grinned, "Wow, I like this school already!"

Cameron rolled his eyes, then went to sit next to Taelia where she was reading a book in the stands. He leaned over casually, "I'm almost insulted that you're doing homework as I'm busy thrashing Nicolas and Herve. I thought you enjoyed watching the two of them beat down a bit?"

Taelia glanced up and smiled softly, "I do, but when you're sending the ball into the goal six turns in a row, it gets a little boring." Her eyes drifted across the field and she raised an eyebrow as she saw Ulrich and Odd being beat by Theo, "Although this is an interesting development."

Cameron glanced over the field, then shot to his feet and ran back onto the field, diving in front of the goal as Theo kicked the ball towards it. The ball glanced off of his forehead and out of bounds, rolling to a stop near Taelia.

Theo ran over to collect it, and then stopped, "Whoa. This school just keeps getting better and better! Which team are you rooting for Ms . . . uh, what's your name? You look kind of familiar, like we've met before."

Taelia glanced up from her book for a moment, and then laughed, "Please, that's the oldest pickup line in the book. My name's Taelia, and I'm rooting for my boyfriend's team." She laughed harder at Theo's crestfallen expression, "Nice try hot stuff, but yeah, hands off." She snapped her book shut and stood, then stole the ball from him, passing it across the field to Cameron, "Later, I need to get some work done."

Cameron waved as she went back to the dorms, and then he zeroed in on Theo where the boy stood, watching her go. He judged the distance, then kicked the ball over, hitting the other boy square in the back of the head. As Theo regained his balance and repaired his hairdo, Cameron shrugged, "Sorry dude, didn't realize that you were so distracted by my girlfriend."

He sent a glare across the field to hammer the point home, and only let up when Theo raised his hands in surrender, "Well, Sissi isn't taken, is she?"

Cameron looked over at Ulrich and laughed, "She's not taken, but uh, you might have to get in line. And then you've got to drag her eyes off of Ulrich and me. If you can do that, by all means take her, you'll be doing me a favor."

Theo shrugged as he picked the ball up to throw it back in, "So, seven to one huh? Let's see if we can change that."

()()()()

Cameron bent over, breathing hard as the other team disbanded, heading for dinner. He looked tiredly over at Odd and Ulrich, "Eight to seven, our win. Barely. Man, that guy is good. We should get him on our team sometime. Still, no match for us." He heaved in another breath before standing straight, trying to decide whether he wanted a shower or food more.

Odd laughed, "You're just saying that because he has his eyes on Taelia and he's better than you at soccer. It's nice to have a challenge for once. And Theo saved them from total humiliation."

Herve muttered something under his breath and stormed off, drawing more than a few looks. Odd's eyebrow went up, "If you ask me, Herve's got it in for the guy."

Cameron rubbed his chin, pretending to think, "Well, is it; option one, Theo is a much better athlete than him, option two, Theo is much better looking than him, even if Herve didn't have acne problems, or is it option three, that Sissi clearly has a crush on Theo." As Sissi and Theo walked off towards the lunchroom, he shrugged, "I'll take door number three, would anyone like to put money against that?"

Ulrich headed off towards the lunchroom as well, "hmm, I'd go with all three. It might be interesting to keep an eye on what happens next."

As the three of them entered the lunchrooms, they saw that - predictably - Herve was trying to keep Theo away from his group. Cameron chuckled as Sissi thoroughly overrode all of Herve's points, and his expression changed from humorous to devious as he heard what Theo's 'initiation' would be. As he looked between Odd and Ulrich, he could tell that they were thinking along the same lines, and he grinned, "Kiwi?"

Ulrich nodded, "Kiwi."

Odd grinned delightedly, "My little diggety dog."

()()()()

Cameron idly buzzed his Wasp around the room, occasionally racing Kiwi to the ball that Odd kept tossing around. As Ulrich hissed to get their attention, Cameron set the wasp down gently on it's stand, then grabbed Kiwi as the small dog attempted to maul it. Odd pulled the case off of Jeremie's pillow as Cameron tucked the small fur ball under his arm, then followed the other two out of the room. Taelia joined them at the doors, grinning at the thought of terrifying Nicolas and Herve.

She still hated the two of them for the way they'd treated her when she'd first arrived.

As the four of them neared the science lab, they slowed to avoid catching Herve or Nicolas' attention. Cameron set Kiwi down next to the door, and Odd covered his dog with Jeremie's pillowcase. As the small dog began to howl, Ulrich pushed the door open and Taelia nudged Kiwi in the right direction, then sent him scampering towards where Herve and Nicolas were skulking outside the science classroom.

As Sissi's followers howled with terror and fled towards the door that the group was hiding behind, the four of them exchanged glances before darting around to hide. Cameron and Taelia took refuge in the shadows under the stairs as the pair they'd frightened fled past them, looking as white as ghosts. They held their breath as Theo also stormed through the doors, cornering Odd and Ulrich, "What are you guys doing?"

Odd grinned weakly, "It's okay, we were going to tell you . . ."

Cameron and Taelia exchanged glances, then tiptoed to the doors as Odd and Ulrich explained things to Theo. They laughed to themselves as they ran back to the dorms, replaying the night's events in their heads. Herve's face was a particularly vivid moment, and Cameron wished that one of them had brought a camera. As the two of them paused outside of the doors leading to the Boy's hallway, Cameron gave Taelia a hug, "Night."

Taelia smiled, hugging him back tightly, "Good night. Thanks for inviting me, I'm glad that I brought a camera." Cameron's bewildered look made her laugh, "Of course I took one, I want to be able to remember the looks on those jerk's faces forever. I'll show you once I've gotten them printed out."

Cameron laughed as he shook his head, "Of course you brought a camera. Forgive me for my lack of forethought."

Taelia rolled her eyes as she ascended the steps to the girl's dorm, "Well, see you tomorrow then."

Cameron raised a hand, "See ya."

()()()()

As Cameron sat down to lunch the next day, he suppressed a yawn, then grinned as he saw Herve still fuming - less than silently - at Theo's presence at his table. Taelia slid into the seat next to him as Yumi left it, following Jeremie out of the lunchroom. Odd was busy stuffing his face as usual, and Ulrich smiled tiredly at the girl, "So how are you today Taelia?"

The girl smiled back, digging eagerly into her food, "A little tired. I was up for a while last night trying to get my camera to work with my printer, but I finally managed it." She pulled a small stack of pictures out of her pocket and slid it across the table to Ulrich, "Maybe I should start an album before I leave. 'Embarrassments of Nicolas and Herve.' What do you think?"

Ulrich laughed as he looked at the pictures, "I think that I wish I'd brought a camera as well. Is there any chance that I can get copies of these?"

Taelia shrugged, "Keep those ones if you want. I can print as many as I want. Do you want copies as well Odd?"

The boy nodded and gave a thumbs up before he swallowed, "Sure thing, I'd love some in fact." He paused, "By the way, sorry we've been a little . . . frosty, to you in the past. It's just, we never really knew you, and, well, that's it really. But actually, you're really cool, I wish that you weren't going to New York, because it's nice to have someone who appreciates my jokes." He looked around as Ulrich and Cameron chuckled, "What? That wasn't a joke!"

Cameron nodded, "I know, but you've never admitted that nobody laughs at your jokes before now is all. We just find it a little bit - Ow! What was that for?"

Taelia withdrew her hand from his shoulder where she'd pinched him, "Don't laugh at people, unless it's Herve, Sissi, or Nicolas you're laughing at. Odd's jokes are just as funny as everyone else's." She struggled to maintain a straight face, then burst out laughing herself, "I'm sorry Odd, but uh," she laughed again, "Your jokes aren't as funny as your attempts are."

Odd stood, "Then I guess I'll go somewhere where they're better appreciated. I'm sure that Yumi and Jeremie need some comedic companionship."

Cameron turned slightly to watch him go, then jerked to his feet as Odd flew back from the doors with a cry of pain. He knelt at the boy's side as he pushed himself into a sitting position, then helped Odd to his feet. As the purple-clad boy dusted himself off, Cameron inspected the doors, noting the slight hum coming from it. He snatched a fork from a nearby table, then tossed it against the door.

He ducked as the fork flew back at him, then rushed to where it had fallen. When he moved to pick it up, a spark jumped between his hand and the utensil and he hissed, "Looks like the doors are electrified. So how do we get out?"

Odd glanced over at him, "You could have just asked me."

Cameron looked back at him and burst out laughing. At Odd's bewildered expression, he held up his phone, the dark screen acting as a mirror for the other boy. Odd's eyes went wide and he let out a slight shriek as he saw that his hair had puffed out from the static electricity, and he made a frantic attempt to repair his precious hair spike. Cameron turned back to the doors and huffed, putting his hands on his hips as he tried to think of a way out. Sissi's voice behind him caught his attention and he nodded in appreciation for the girl's thinking. As she snapped her phone shut, he spoke up, "I take it that Principal Delmas is going to cut the power?"

Sissi nodded, "We'll be out of here soon enough."

()()()()

Cameron looked over at the doors for the umpteenth time and sighed, "Are the firemen almost here? I'm not sure about anyone else, but I'm getting a bit bored with counting the chairs."

Sissi glared at him, "My father says they're almost here, we should be out soon."

Taelia rolled her eyes, "You said that half an hour ago, and we're still here. So are we getting out soon enough or not?"

Sissi stammered to make a reply, and Theo spoke up in her defense, "Hey, I don't see you making any calls to your parents to get us out of here. Lay off of her!"

Cameron raised his eyebrows, "Oh I'm sorry, you're right, I'll call my dad. Oh no wait, I can't, because he's _dead._" He stood toe to toe with the other boy, "Just because you're new here, I'll pardon you for not knowing that. But next time, don't assume that you know anyone at this school." He turned on his heel and walked away before Theo could form a reply - and before he punched him in the face.

Taelia caught up with him as he stared out the window towards the park, slipping her hand into his, "Cameron, we're going to get out of here. You don't need to be on edge because of something like this."

She was about to continue, but the flash of a camera broke her off as Milly began talking, "Taelia, Cameron, how long have the two of you been a couple?"

Cameron stared at the two reporters as if they'd grown an extra pair of eyes, "First off, do you bring that camera _everywhere _you go? Second, we're trapped in a cafeteria that could potentially collapse on our heads from electricity weakening the support beams, and you two are thinking of your newspaper. Lastly, We've been together for . . ." he glanced at Taelia, "How long would you say? Three months?"

Taelia shrugged, "Sounds about right. Maybe two and a half or so."

Before the small reporters could continue with an onslaught of questions, Cameron and Taelia hurried over to where Ulrich and Odd were stacking tables to help support the ceiling. As Cameron dragged a table over to the stack and began lifting it up onto the other tables, Sissi's voice rang out, "The firemen have cut all of the power to this half of the Campus."

Cameron set his table down for a moment, only long enough to pick up a plastic cup and toss it gently at the wall. The cup blasted across the room, nearly hitting him in the face.

He stood from where he'd dove out of the cup's path, "Well, power or no power, there's still an active current running through the building. Don't touch the walls, definitely don't touch the doors."

Herve promptly ignored him, running for the doors and reaching for one of the handles before Theo grabbed his wrist and pulled him safely away from it. Cameron returned to finishing the stack of tables as Theo and Sissi calmed Herve enough to keep him from trying to fry himself again. As Cameron carefully climbed down from the mountain of tables, he noticed that Milly and Tamiya were waiting for him at the bottom, one of them holding onto the hem of Taelia's shirt to keep her from running away again. The questions started as soon as his feet touched the floor.

"So you've been dating for three months? How did Sissi take the news?"

"Are you willing to show in the next article?"

"Will you give us an interview as a couple? Or would you rather have two interviews separately?"

Cameron waved at the two small reporters, "How about you wait a few more months and stick us in your 'Kadic Couples' section at that point rather than now? We're still just getting started, I'd rather not have her break up with me because of anything that happens in an interview. Because she hits a lot harder than I like to admi - OW! Like that." Cameron rubbed his arm where Taelia had slugged him, "What was that for?"

Taelia glared at him as she pulled him away, "You know very well that in a few months, I'm _moving._ You want one of my last memories here with you to be an interview with those two?"

Cameron grinned, "Precisely. A few months, and you'll be far enough away that no article they can write will have any effect on you. And if they can't get you, they won't want me, it works great for both of us."

Taelia would have slugged him again if his logic hadn't made sense. Instead she sighed, "Okay okay, good plan. Of course, it will only matter of we get out of here safely."

Cameron sighed and pulled her into a hug, rubbing his hand in small circles between her shoulders, "Relax, we'll be fine. You just need to trust in . . . something. I have no idea what exactly, and I'm definitely not the person you want to ask about what to trust who with."

Taelia smiled and pulled back, "Cameron, you're the person I trust _everything _with."

Cameron laughed, "See, there you go. We'll be fine." A small section of the roof rained down and caught him on the shoulder, "Although it may be a good idea to get under the tables, I'd say that that's a safer place than anywhere else in the room."

As the two of them crawled into the fortress-like arrangement of tables, it quickly became apparent that they weren't the only ones to have that idea. The small area was packed with people, and more came crawling in until there was no more space, and the remaining people were cowering at the edges of the tables, hoping that nothing came down on them.

Cameron's arm went around Taelia's shoulders as the building began to shake slightly, and bits of roof started coming down. He heard the sound of snapping and suspected that the top table had broken. His arm tightened around Taelia and he lowered his head, closing his eyes.

Even through closed eyes, he could see the flash that lit up the world, and everything went black.

()()()()

Cameron rolled his foot back and forth over the ball, waiting for Nicolas to make a move. When the boy lunged forward, lashing out at the ball with his foot, Cameron rolled the ball over on top of his foot, then kicked it into the air, sailing over to where Ulrich waited for it. As Ulrich raced up the field, Cameron dodged around Nicolas and sprinted down alongside him, passing the ball between himself and Ulrich just because they could. As Herve faced off against Ulrich, Cameron moved near the goal, ready to tap the ball in.

The ball flew over Herve's head as Ulrich flipped and hit the ground after an awesome bicycle kick, and Odd headed it over to the goal, somehow without messing up his . . . unique, hairdo. Cameron took a single step to his right and lifted his knee, hammering the ball past the goalie and into the net. He grinned as the three players facing them groaned, and bumped chests with Odd.

"Seven to One!" Odd crowed, reveling in their lead, "this is turning into a rout!" He did a victory jig as Sissi threw the ball away in disgust at her team's lack of ability.

The ball rolled to a stop at Yumi's feet, and she picked it up, tossing it to Odd, "It's getting late, I'd better get home. See you."

Ulrich spoke up as Cameron and Odd gave him pointed stares, "If you want I'll walk you ho-"

A boy that Cameron hadn't seen around the campus before slid up next to Yumi, "No I'll go! So long Odd, and thanks!" He draped an arm around Yumi's shoulders and Cameron stifled a laugh at the shades of red that Ulrich's face was turning.

He shook his head and went to sit next to Taelia, "When do you think that Ulrich is going to 'fess up to Yumi about his feelings?"

Taelia glanced up, "About when Sissi stops chasing after him."

"So basically, when he graduates from Kadic?"

"Thereabouts, I guess. I mean, it took us how long?"

Cameron blushed and cleared his throat, whistling innocently to avoid her question. She laughed and stood, snapping her book shut, "See you later. I've got some work to get caught up on."

Cameron stood as well, "I'll come along, maybe I can help you with it."

Taelia laughed again, "You will go take a shower, you've been running around in the sun for the better part of the last hour, and I don't want my room to smell of exercise for the next week, thank you very much."

Cameron sighed and gave a mock salute, "Yes ma'am."

Taelia grinned and returned the salute, touching a pair of fingers to her brow, "As you were then soldier. I expect to see you at dinner, without the fresh scent of soccer hanging around. You know what will go through Milly and Tamiya's heads."

Cameron grinned back, "Yikes, now that you mention it, I have to agree. Later."

Taelia watched him jog back to the dorms, her hands clasped across her book, "Later."

**End of Chapter Eighteen**

**So, the end of a new chapter, what do you all think? Sorry it took so long to get up, but as I said in my note in the previous chapter, I was at a running camp all week, so I couldn't write anything. It was one of those, 'no electronics' things.**

**Review replies:**

**Guest:**

**I have some plans regarding Taelia after Season one, so if I do the rest of the seasons, you'll find out what happens. Right now I plan on doing it, but I'll leave it up to you guys as to whether or not I continue into Season Two, and then Seasons Three and Four. Assuming, of course, that you guys all want me to do even Season Two. If I don't do the rest of the seasons . . . well, I have themes for Taelia on my profile. Season one it's Soul Sister, seasons Two, Three, and Four it's 'Hey there Delilah' and for 'Echoes' and/or any epilogue to this story that I may make her Theme is 'Drops of Jupiter.' SPOILERS if you listen to those songs, but I won't say anything else except that yes, they do get a happy ending.**

**BreadLoaf:**

**Thank you for your supportive reviews, I really appreciate them. Especially thanks for saying my sappy romance writing wasn't bad, I've got mixed feelings whenever I write something like a date scene.**

**Funman1111:**

**Thanks for reviewing, even if you were threatening to kill me if I take too long to update. Sorry this one took so long, as I've said, I was at camp all last week, so I couldn't get any writing done.**


	19. Amnesia

**Code: Cameron**

**Chapter Nineteen**

**Amnesia**

Cameron placed his elbows on the demonstration table as the rest of the class gathered around it. Sissi slid up next to him and he groaned, "Can't you leave me alone for one day Sissi?"

The girl shrugged, "You know Cameron, you don't have to be shy with your feelings for me. I know what you really think."  
Cameron shook his head, "Yeah, that I really want to barf whenever I smell your perfume."

Ms. Hertz put a small object on the table, "Quiet down now everyone." She shot Cameron and Sissi a look in particular, then returned her attention to the sphere in front of her, "This is a nanosphere, kindly lent to us by the Nanotech company. Who can tell us what Nanotechnology is?" Jeremie's hand came up off of the table about an inch, and she gave him the nod, ignoring Herve's hand waving above his head.

Jeremie spoke quickly and evenly, "It's microscopic science technology. There are Nano-motors, Nano-circuit boards, and Nano gears."

Herve turned away from Jeremie with his nose in the air as Ms. Hertz spoke again, "Exactly. In the medical field for example, scientists are developing Nano doctors, tiny robots capable of entering our bodies to combat viruses. Of course, there's still a long way to go before we're there."

Sissi raised a hand, "Can they fight pimples cellulite and things like that?"

Ms. Hertz smiled as the rest of the class burst into laughter, "Yes, but they would be more concerned with combating more serious diseases."

Odd stopped laughing long enough to speak, "But they can't do anything about stupidity. Poor Sissi, what a shame."

As Ms. Hertz removed the cover on the small petri dish, Cameron noticed a film of what looked like jelly. Ulrich spoke, "It looks like the gel that Odd puts on his hair every day."

Ms. Hertz was the only one who didn't even chuckle, "Well since you're so clever Ulrich, why don't you take a sample for us to examine."

As Ulrich lifted a small amount of the jelly on a glass sampler, Odd 'accidentally' nudged him, sending some of the sample flying over onto Cameron's cheek. He wiped it off, "Oh I'm gonna get you for that one Odd."

Odd smiled apologetically, "Sorry Cameron, it was supposed to hit Herve."

Cameron laughed with the rest of the class, then stopped as a sudden dizzy spell hit him. He held the table for support through the few seconds it lasted, then resumed laughing with the rest of the class.

Ms. Hertz replaced the sphere onto the tray, "This is a science class children! Not a comedy club!"

()()()()

Cameron lazed against the tree with the others, enjoying the fresh air. Jeremie was still focused on the science class earlier, "Nano technology, now that's a field I'd like to go into."

Yumi shrugged, "Normal technology gives me enough problems as it is, much less nanotechnology."

Cameron's ears perked up as he heard Ulrich opening a candy bar. Leaning around the tree, his eyes opened wide at the sight of chocolate and caramel. He pointed, "Do you have any more of those Ulrich?"

The boy handed it to him over his shoulder, "Yeah, I've got more in my room. Here."

As Cameron was about to take a bite, Odd spoke up, "Hey Cameron, could you spare me a bite of that? Please?"

Cameron looked down at the candy bar, then broke a piece off, holding it up in front of Odd, "This?" As Odd nodded enthusiastically Cameron shrugged, "Here." He held the piece of candy up in front of Odd, and then stuck it against the boy's forehead as he made a grab for it.

He laughed as Odd pulled it off and stuck it in his mouth, "I told you I was going to get you."  
Odd shrugged as he swallowed the candy, "Normally I'd say fair enough, but taking advantage of my sweet tooth is about as unfair as you can get."

Cameron shrugged "I warned you that I'd -" a searing pain shot through his head and he cried out in pain as he dropped to one knee, placing one hand to his temple. As the others crowded around him, he shook his head, "My head hurts like - AGH!" He sprawled out on the ground, laying limply in Jim's arms as the burly man rushed over, taking him to the infirmary."

Odd looked at the candy bar laying on the ground. He picked it up, and removed the rest of the wrapper after breaking off the bit that had touched the ground, "Do you guys think that Cameron would mind if I ate this?"

()()()()

Cameron's eyes snapped open and he sat bolt upright. His first thought was _hospital_, and his second thought was, _who's she?_

The girl sitting on his bed looked startled that he'd woken up, and his mouth opened, questions spilling out as fast as he could think of them, "Where are we? What is this place? Who are you? What am I doing here? What's-" he cut himself off at the look on the girl's face.

For a moment, the girl looked surprised, and then she spoke, a little haltingly, "We're in the infirmary. I'm Sissi, and you passed out in the schoolyard."

Cameron swung out of the bed and crossed to a mirror, trying to sort through things. There was precious little to sort through, his mind was a blank slate, and no matter what he did, he could get anything written on it. He splashed his face with water and turned back to the girl, "Do I know you?" He nodded at the girl's expression, "Of course I know you, why else would you be sitting on my bed while I was sleeping." He gave her a wary glance, "You do know how creepy that is, right?" He shook his head and turned back to the mirror, "What's my name?"

Sissi shrugged, "Your name is Cameron." She crossed the room and peered at him, "You must have hit your head when you fell. I was really worried about you."

Cameron glanced at her, "Why would you be worried about me?"

Sissi hesitated, "Because . . . I'm your girlfriend."

Cameron's eyes went wide, and then images flashed through his head.

_Cameron leaned against the door frame, "Well, Sissi, you can always hope. Who knows, maybe if you grow a few brain cells, one of us will date you after all!"_

_Sissi was far from amused by the remark, or the laughter that stemmed from it. With her straight back radiating even more rage than before, she turned on her heel, and walked away._

_"Yumi, I think that Ulrich is like me, and rates Sissi somewhere down there with slugs and sea sponges. You're not jealous, are you?" Cameron fell into another fit of uncontrollable laughter, and was unable to fully hear and understand Yumi's reply._

Cameron heaved in a breath and opened his eyes. For a moment, Sissi looked shocked and appalled, but she quickly smoothed her expression over, putting forth a political effort of calm as the door opened and s nurse walked in, "I see that our patient is awake. How are you Cameron?"

Cameron was about to speak, but Sissi cut him off, "He's feeling much better." She grabbed his wrist, "In fact, I was just about to take him to his room!"

The nurse looked doubtful, but stood aside as Sissi pulled him out. He could hear the Nurse calling down the hallway, "Are you sure you're alright?"

()()()()

As Sissi pulled him across campus, Cameron couldn't help but notice that they were attracting a lot of stares. As they passed one girl in particular as she looked up from her book, he could feel her gaze burning into his back. He looked over his shoulder for her, but looked forwards again when he nearly tripped. Sissi looked back at him for a moment, then looked up to where the girl was walking towards them. She leaned in close and pointed back to the girl, "You see her? She's one of the worst people at the school. She tried to steal you away from me, even when it was obvious that you didn't care about her."

Cameron looked back over his shoulder again at the girl as they resumed walking, and the girl stopped, hurt written plain across her face. She looked around, then ran towards a small knot of people clustered around a tree. Sissi spotted the group she'd run to, and pointed them out to Cameron as well, "And those four that she just met up with? They're your worst enemies, you've hated each other practically since the day you all met."  
Cameron felt a growing sense of confusion, "Why do I hate them so much?" He felt Sissi's grip on his wrist tighten, and then he was hauled along again.

A hand fell onto his shoulder, and one of the kids Sissi had pointed out to him was just _there_. A face beneath a spike of blond hair grinned, "Nice to see you're up and around pal. How are you feeling?"

Cameron's sense of confusion deepened, but his face contorted into a scowl, "Dude, leave me alone."

The blond kid backed off, surprise written across his face, "What's wrong Cameron? Don't you recognize us? It's me, Odd."

Cameron's eyebrow went up, and his eyes narrowed slightly, but Sissi looped her arm through his, speaking in his place, "That's enough creep. Can't you tell that he doesn't want to know you?"

The group looked as confused as Cameron felt, and the red haired girl from earlier looked as if her heart was broken, but Sissi pulled him away before any more words could be exchanged. As they neared a pair of kids, Sissi slowed, "These are your good friends," She gestured to the first, "Nicolas," her hand moved to point at the other, "And Herve."

Cameron noticed a can of soda in Herve's hand, and he was suddenly aware that his throat was dry, "Hey, do you mind if I have that?" He snatched the can as Herve offered it up and took a gulp. He handed it back and felt Sissi tugging at his hand again, suppressing a sigh as she declared that they needed a walk in the park.

A quick look over his shoulder showed his friends looking confused, and the group that Sissi claimed he hated looking even more so, with a determined set to their faces.

()()()()

Sissi handed Cameron a cookie, "Here. You could probably use the energy."

Cameron nodded his thanks and bit into the small dessert, looking around the park as he swallowed. As he looked behind him, a flash of red caught his eye, and he did a double take as a girl ducked behind a tree. He sighed, then vaulted over the bench, slipping around the tree and behind the girl as she peered back around.

She leaped into the air and whirled around as he tapped her shoulder, "Are you spying on us?"

The girl raised her hands defensively, "No! No, I was just-"

Cameron stepped forward as she stepped back, his hand balling into a fist, "Stop lying to me! In fact, just stop talking to me, and leave me alone!"

The girl swallowed nervously, then glanced over at where Sissi was sitting on the bench. Cameron glanced over to Sissi in time to see her hurriedly wipe a smirk from her face, and when he turned back, the other girl was standing very still, her own hands balled together. She spoke low, "If that's how you feel, then fine. But maybe you'll remember this, when Sissi's done toying with you."

Before Cameron could ask what she meant, her hand cracked across his cheek, sending him staggering into the tree. He rolled his jaw around, and started to turn to face her, "What do you think you-" he stopped as he realized that the girl was running off towards a pair of guys standing near the entrance to the park. Cameron recognized them as two of the guys from the group Sissi said he hated, but . . .

_Cameron shrugged helplessly, "Hey, I don't have a job, and right now, I don't have any parents to mooch cash off of. My budget is pretty tight for stuff like this. Repairing a house is expensive." He looked around the yard, then back to her, smiling faintly, "Although, I do have enough for a movie, if you want . . ."_

_Taelia blushed and cleared her throat before speaking, "Are . . . are you asking me on a date?"_

_Cameron's face became tinged with red as well, "Uh, yes. I think I am."_

_Taelia grinned at him, "Well then, how could I refuse? Six o'clock next saturday work for you?"_

_Cameron grinned, "Works for me."_

_Taelia stood on her toes and placed a quick kiss on his cheek, laughing as Cameron stammered and tried to come up with something to say. She laughed as she dashed for the gate, "See you later!"_

_Cameron simply stood there, still trying to think of something for the next few minutes. _

_Taelia's smile shrank just a tiny bit as she took on a slightly more serious tone, "Can you teach me to fight?"_

_Cameron frowned in confusion, "Fight? Why would you want to know how to fight?"_

_Taelia shrugged, "Just in case, you know? A girl never knows when someone will try to make a move on her boyfriend." She grinned again, "And this girl wants to know how to kick them into next week when they try."_

_Cameron grinned, "Well alrighty then. Meet me in the gym after class?"_

_Taelia grinned as well, then rose to her tiptoes to give him a quick kiss on the cheek, "It's a date." _

_"Cameron really, where are we going?" Taelia sounded a bit impatient, but Cameron couldn't blame her, she'd been blindfolded and led along by the hand for a good ten minutes now._

_He reached the point he'd chosen and spun her around, facing her out towards the city, "You can open your eyes now."_

_Taelia let her eyes flick open and she gasped, "Oh wow."_

_The lights of the city spread out beneath them like a blanket of stars, matched only by the scattering of real stars above them. Cameron set a blanket out and laid back on it, gazing up at the universe, "I found this place a few months after I came to Kadic. Originally you wouldn't be able to see the city for the weeds and grass, but I . . . 'borrowed' a weed whacker from the school's garden shed and well, you can see the results for yourself." He sat up and looped an arm around Taelia's shoulders, "Do you like it?"_

_Taelia let her head fall back onto his shoulder and she let out a quiet laugh, "I love it. Thanks, it's worth the bumps and bruises I got getting here blindfolded."_

_Cameron cringed slightly at the sarcastic tone in her voice, "Yeah . . . sorry about the blindfold. I didn't want you to see it too early. Hey, at least I didn't let you fall."_

_Taelia smiled and wrapped her arms around him, "True. And it is worth it." She looked up at him, "Thank you for showing me your home away from . . . school. It's amazing."_

_Cameron smiled down at her, "Well, it's certainly better when I'm here with someone than all alone, I'll say that much for certain. And I'm infinitely happier that it's you here rather than someone else."_

_Even in the dark, he could see Taelia's features turn red, "So who else knows about this place?"_

_Cameron shrugged, "I have no idea. No one as far as I know, but I suppose it's likely that someone has found it as well."_

_Taelia snuggled closer to him, "Well, thank you for showing me."_

Cameron drew in a shuddering breath and pushed off of the tree, straightening as he sorted through the images that had just flashed through his head. He closed his eyes and shook his head slightly, trying to clear it as his heart yelled at him to go find Taelia and apologize to her. A hand slid into his and he turned, half expecting to see her there, and his heart fell when he realized that he was still with Sissi.

The girl offered him the rest of his cookie, "come sit down. You need to rest."

Cameron pulled his hand away from her, "Sorry but what I need right now . . . I just need to be alone."

He hurried off, not sure exactly where he was headed.

()()()()

As Cameron walked through the hallway, he couldn't help but notice that it looked almost abandoned. As a kid ran by, Cameron grabbed his arm, "Hey, is my room around here anywhere?"

The kid looked at him weirdly for a moment, "Has everyone lost it around here? Third door on the left."

As the kid ran away through the doors, Cameron wandered down to the door he'd specified. A neat room greeted him, a computer laying on one desk and a set of robots sat on the other, small lights indicating that they were fully charged. He picked one up and examined it, then took up a remote and began piloting it around the room. A pair of sunglasses laying on the desk started beeping and he picked them up, putting them on and recieving data and a video that he assumed was from the robot, especially when he swung it around and saw himself. He set the glasses back on the desk and looked around the room, picking up pictures and feeling flashes of memory flit through his mind as he looked at each one. The last one he picked up was him and Taelia, probably in one of those picture booths at cinemas and around town. He swallowed hard and lifted one of the previous pictures, looking at the house in the background. The girl looked a lot like Taelia, only her hair was lighter and her eyes were a different shade. He let the picture fall back to the desk and picked at a thin chain around his neck, flicking open the small locket on the end. The girl from the picture smiled up at him with a toddler on her shoulders, and Cameron felt choked up for whatever reason. He snapped the locket shut and moved to the door, wanting to find the house in the background.

()()()()

As the gate swung open before him, Cameron glanced around the desolate yard. It didn't seem to him as if anyone had lived there in a long time, but he could hear someone through the upstairs window. His feet moved on their own and guided him inside, then upstairs. Cameron swallowed hard as he paused in front of a door, he could hear someone crying on the other side. The door swung open slightly as his knuckles rapped against it, and he stepped inside softly. Taelia sat on the bed, her knees drawn up with her head resting on them. She looked over at him, and he could see tracks where tears had run down her cheeks, and his heart simply melted. He let his gaze fall to the ground, "I'm sorry. I don't suppose anything I'll say will make a difference here."  
Taelia watched him for a moment longer, then turned to look out the window, her voice choked, "Not really."

Cameron sighed, "Well, you probably know that I'm going to be saying it anyway."  
"I do." Taelia sounded sadder by the moment.

Cameron closed his eyes and took a deep breath then opened them again to look at her, "About earlier, in the park . . . I don't remember anything before waking up in the infirmary. Things have come back in flashes, but when we were talking, I didn't know the first thing about you."

Taelia shrugged, "The gang and I figured it was something like that, but it doesn't make what you said any easier to deal with."

Cameron swallowed a lump in his throat, "So, nothing I say will fix this then?"

Taelia shook her head, and Cameron slowly turned to the door, "Taelia . . . I don't remember much, even now, but . . . I do remember that I love you. I'm sorrier that this happened than you can imagine." He started to leave again, walking slowly down the stairs and back into the yard. Her gaze burned into his back as he walked out through the gate, but she didn't say anything, not that he'd expected her to.

Cameron whirled around as he heard her cry out in pain, and he saw her stagger away from the window, a hand pressed to her head. The doors seemed to fly open for him as he sprinted back inside to the room she was in, checking her pulse and breathing. He lifted her petite frame and set her down on the bed, brushing a lock of hair away from her eyes as he sat down next to her. Her breathing was deep and even, as if she were simply asleep, but her eyes fluttered beneath closed eyelids, as if she were locked in a dream that she couldn't wake from. Cameron felt a tear roll down his cheek, followed by another, and another.

_"You've memorized that song? Wow. I've really got to get you out of your room more." Taelia's voice threw Cameron out of his singing mood and he felt blood rushing to his face._

_He cleared his throat and shrugged, "Well, I have a pretty limited cash flow, so there's not much that I can do in town."_

_Taelia chuckled and held up her wallet, "Well then it's a good thing that my foster parents have little time and a lot of money. Come on, let's hit the town after class. My treat." She put a finger on Cameron's lips as he tried to protest, "If you're about to say that the guy is supposed to pay for the girl, I wouldn't. The guy is supposed to have a modicum of sense if he expects the girl to respect him. And if that sense means that he recognizes that the girl is the one better suited to paying for dates, well," she shrugged innocently, "I guess that the guy will have to consider his empty wallet."_

_Cameron sighed and shook his head, "I'm never going to win a debate with you, am I?"_

_Taelia smiled and patted his shoulder in mock sympathy, "No. Sorry dear." She laughed and headed into class, Cameron following her into math a moment later._

Cameron blinked and rubbed his eyes. It was the first time that memories had come through his mind and it hadn't hurt, he wasn't sure if it was because he was getting used to it or what, but he appreciated the memory, feeling a surge of protectiveness for the girl in front of him. He stood and made his way to the window, then clutched at the frame when he saw a wall of white light sweeping towards the house.

His eyes widened, "What in the name of-"

The wall of light swept over him, and blackness followed it.

()()()()

Cameron placed his elbows on the demonstration table as the rest of the class gathered around it. Sissi slid up next to him and he groaned, "Can't you leave me alone for one day Sissi?"

The girl shrugged, "You know Cameron, you don't have to be shy with your feelings for me. I know what you really think."  
Cameron shook his head, "Yeah, that I really want to barf whenever I smell your perfume."

Ms. Hertz put a small object on the table, "Quiet down now everyone." She shot Cameron and Sissi a look in particular, then returned her attention to the sphere in front of her, "This is a nanosphere, kindly lent to us by the Nanotech company. Who can tell us what Nanotechnology is?" Jeremie's hand came up off of the table about an inch, and she gave him the nod, ignoring Herve's hand waving above his head.

Jeremie spoke quickly and evenly, "It's microscopic science technology. There are Nano-motors, Nano-circuit boards, and Nano gears."

Herve turned away from Jeremie with his nose in the air as Ms. Hertz spoke again, "Exactly. In the medical field for example, scientists are developing Nano doctors, tiny robots capable of entering our bodies to combat viruses. Of course, there's still a long way to go before we're there."

Sissi raised a hand, "Can they fight pimples cellulite and things like that?"

Ms. Hertz smiled as the rest of the class burst into laughter, "Yes, but they would be more concerned with combating more serious diseases."

Odd stopped laughing long enough to speak, "But they can't do anything about stupidity. Poor Sissi, what a shame."

As Ms. Hertz removed the cover on the small petri dish, Cameron noticed a film of what looked like jelly. Apparently he wasn't the only one with the thought, because Ulrich spoke up, "It looks like the gel that Odd puts on his hair every day."

Ms. Hertz was the only one who didn't even chuckle, "Well since you're so clever Ulrich, why don't you take a sample for us to examine."

As Ulrich lifted the sample in front of him, he grinned, "Actually, it looks more like jelly. Maybe we should see if we can cook it?"

The class froze in shock as he switched on a bunsen burner and held the sample over it, watching the glass and gelatin melt together over the flame. Ms. Hertz was the first to recover, "How dare you destroy school equipment? I'll have to punish you severely for that, and it won't be a punishment you soon forget!"

Ulrich glanced over at Cameron for a brief moment before he answered, "I hope not Ms. Hertz. I sure hope not."

**End of Chapter Nineteen**

**Hey guys! I really enjoyed writing this chapter, and I hope that you guys enjoyed reading it just as much! I'm trying to get Taelia on good terms with the gang lately, if you haven't noticed, because I think that they would respect Cameron's feelings enough to at least treat her nicely even if they didn't like her all that much. So I decided to have her work with the gang this time around, because something tells me that she wouldn't lay down just because Sissi was parading Cameron around campus like a prize. So anyway, there's that, I hope you like it! And do you know what's coming next?**

**Did you like it? Hate it? Please review!**


	20. Killer Music

**Code: Cameron**

**Chapter Twenty**

**Killer Music**

Cameron glanced over at the door as it opened, and Ulrich stepped in. His eyebrow went up and he stood, leaving his textbook on the desk where it was. He noted the matching book in Ulrich's hand and the weary look on the boy's face, "Odd making it hard to study?"

Ulrich nodded, "How did you guess?"

Cameron nodded to the door where Odd's voice was audible singing to the same song, "Because we can hear him in here. I can only imagine how bad it was in the room with him."

Ulrich nodded, then moved to sit at the desk next to Cameron, "If I were trying to sleep, it might not have been as bad, I just would have put some ear plugs in. But they're distracting enough to make studying difficult."

Cameron nodded, "So what do you need help on?"

Ulrich pointed to one of the questions, "Physics."

Cameron grimaced, it was clearly going to be a long night, "Alright, so the first thing with this problem . . ."

()()()()

Cameron yawned as the rest of the group sat down around him. Taelia grinned and jostled his elbow a little, "Late night studying?"

Cameron grinned, "Late night helping Ulrich study to be exact. Odd was apparently quite distracting." His gaze rose from his food to Ulrich, "Speaking of Odd, do you know where he is? It's not like him to miss breakfast."

Ulrich shrugged, "Honestly? I really don't care."

Jeremie smiled, "Still mad at him?"

Ulrich's first response was a glare, "Yeah."

Cameron sighed, "It's Odd, and it was music. What else did you expect? For him to keep it down?"

Ulrich nodded, "Yes, actually. At least while I was studying."

Cameron sighed and stood up, "Well, I forgot something in my room, so I'll check on him when I get it, make sure he's at least awake."

Jeremie stood, "We'll go with you. Right Ulrich?"

The boy shook his head, "No, we'll be late to class."

Jeremie and Cameron responded by grabbing his arms and hauling him out of the lunchroom toward the dorms.

()()()()

As the door swung open to Ulrich and Odd's room, Ulrich snorted, "See? He's right there, fast asleep. Now let's go before we're late for class."

Jeremie stepped up to the bed, reaching down to shake Odd awake. When the only response was Odd's headphones falling off his head, he shook the boy again, "Odd! Wake up!"

Ulrich frowned, "If this is a joke it's a bad one, we're gonna be late."

Jeremie shook Odd again, "I don't think this is a joke!"

Cameron gently pulled Jeremie away from the bed, cracked his knuckles, and then cracked the back of his hand across Odd's face. The boy still didn't respond and Cameron was tempted to try smacking him again, but thought better of it, "Something is definitely wrong here. We should take him to Yolanda." He slung one of Odd's arms across his shoulders and heaved the boy upright, "Give me a hand here will ya Ulrich? Jeremie, maybe you should go to class and tell the teacher why we're late?"

Jeremie shook his head, "I'll go and tell Yolanda what's happened, and then we'll see about class once we know more about Odd."

Cameron sighed, "You're right, letting her know in advance would be better than just dropping him off without warning. Plus I know you well enough that you won't be taking no for an answer here, so let's get going."

()()()()

As Cameron and Ulrich dropped Odd into the infirmary bed, Yolanda pulled out a series of serious-looking articles of equipment. After a few checks, she turned to the principal, "Call the hospital, tell them it's urgent." She wrapped an air pump around Odd's arm to check his blood pressure, and sighed, "his heartbeat and blood pressure are very low, this isn't good."

Ulrich swallowed nervously, "Do you think he'll be alright?"

Yolanda didn't even try to lighten the news, "I don't know."

()()()()

Cameron watched as the ambulance pulled away, taking Odd, Jeremie, and Ulrich all with it. He sighed as a cloud crossed the sun, filling him with a sense of foreboding. He glanced over at Yumi, "We should probably go. There's nothing we can do for him now."

The girl nodded slowly, "I hope he'll be alright."

Cameron thought a moment, then smiled, "Eh, I'm sure he'll be fine. He may be scrawny, but he's as tough as nails. He'll pull through." To himself he silently added, _I hope._

Yumi smiled thinly, "Yeah, you're right. But I'm still worried about him."

Cameron sighed, "Don't let Ulrich hear you say that. He might get jealous that Odd is in your mind more than him." He ducked as Yumi swung at him, "hey, I'm just saying, you two are," He ducked as she tried to hit him again, "Alright, alright, I'll stop talking!" He smiled, "It took your mind off of things though, right?" He jogged back to class as Yumi was debating whether to try and hit him again or not.

As he entered the near-silent classroom, he handed Ms. Hertz a quick note from the principal, then slid into his seat, filling out the sheet of paper that could make or break his grade.

()()()()

Taelia took his hand as the class ended and they all filed out, "So what kept you out of class for so long? Did Odd take a while to wake up?"

Cameron glanced sidelong at her, "You could say that. He's en route to the hospital."

Taelia's face fell next to Cameron, Odd was the nicest one to her in the group, "What's wrong with him?"

He sighed, "Low heartbeat and blood pressure, he's more or less in a coma." He realized that Taelia was listening to a song as they walked, and his eyebrows rose as they exited the building, "Mind if I listen? What song is it?"

Taelia nodded and handed him the headset, "It's called Glad when you're bad. I got it off the internet."

Only a few seconds after he put the headphones on, a darting pain zipped through his head, and Cameron grunted, fell to his knees, and then simply collapsed, darkness swarming across the field of his vision.

Taelia's eyes went wide and she tried to shake him awake, "Cameron? Cameron! Come on, get up, this isn't funny!"

Jim appeared by her side, "What happened?"

Taelia shuddered, as though the temperature had dropped suddenly, "I don't know, one second I gave him my headphones, and the next he just collapsed."

()()()()

Ulrich and Jeremie were waiting for the doctors to allow them entrance to Odd's room when Taelia rushed by, following another squad. As the doctors entered a room, one stayed outside, telling her that she couldn't go in. After a short argument, the door closed on her and she stamped her foot, then stormed over to a bench, crying with frustration.

Jeremie sat down next to her, "What happened?"

Taelia sobbed, "Cameron, h-he just fell over, and now he won't wake up, and I just don't know what to do. I feel like it's my fault and there's nothing that I can do about anything and I feel so helpless and it's just, just, argh!" She slammed a fist into the bench as she nearly screamed with frustration, "If he dies I'll k-kill him!"

Ulrich crouched in front of her, "Hey, if there's one thing you shouldn't do, it's beat yourself up over this. You know him better than anyone, would he want you wearing yourself thin over him? If something did happen to him, you know that he'd want to to get past it and get on with your life."

Taelia's mood didn't improve, if anything, she started crying harder "Y-you're talking like h-he's dead already, or like he's a total s-stranger to you! Don't you care if your friend is alright or not?"

Jeremie set a hand on her shoulder, "Hey, we're worried about him too, we're worried about him and Odd both, but you do know what Cameron always says, right? If you can't change something, don't worry about it. If you can change something, don't worry about it, go and change it. There's nothing you can do for him, so he wouldn't want you worrying about him. What happened before he collapsed?"

Taelia shuddered and wiped her eyes, "Um, he asked to listen to a song I was listening to, and I gave him my headphones for barely a second before he just collapsed."

Ulrich and Jeremie exchanged a glance before a nurse stepped out of Odd's room, hurrying over to them, "Your friend is as stable as we can make him, if you want to see him, you can."

Ulrich hurried into Odd's room as Jeremie went to fetch a soda, and Taelia pulled her knees up to her chin, trying to sort out what had happened and trying to figure out what she should do next. Her reverie was interrupted as the doctor she'd argued with earlier stepped out of Cameron's room, putting a hand on her shoulder, "You can go in and see your friend now. Don't worry, we're going to do anything we-" she stopped talking as Taelia blew past her into Cameron's room, the door flying shut behind her.

()()()()

"_Cameron, time to get up, we'll be late for the first day of school."_

_Cameron stirred in his sleep, muttering something along the lines of, 'five more minutes,' and then a cup of water was upended on his head. He spluttered awake, wiping at the water ineffectively, then glared at the girl above him, holding an empty cup, "Really Aelita? I just asked for five more minutes." Then the scene in front of him hit home and his eyes went wide, "Wait, what's going on?" He looked around, taking in his room at the Hermitage, then back up at Aelita, "Why am I at the Hermitage? What happened to Kadic?"_

_Aelita's brow furrowed, "Well, if you don't get up, we'll be late for the morning classes at Kadic, if that's what you mean. On the first day. Did you have a weird dream again?"_

_Cameron looked down at his hands, trying to sort out what was dream and reality, "I guess I must have." He flopped back onto his pillow, "Really weird, dreaming up ten years isn't normal, even for me."_

_Aelita laughed, "Well, you can tell daddy and I all about it over breakfast, but only if you hurry up. The food is going to get cold."_

_After Aelita exited the room, Cameron pushed back the covers, thinking through the situation. Very weird dream, or was he dreaming now? He bent at the waist as flashes of things came back to him, a scream, a loud crashing sound, and then everything going black as something searing hot fell against his leg. He reached down and pulled up the leg of his pajamas, running a hand along a scar, healed now, but not from ten years ago. More like from one year ago, at most. Then there was Aelita, he'd thought in his dream that she was ten years older than him, but now, she looked no more than a few months older than him, definitely not ten years. He pushed other thoughts aside and focused on something that he hadn't been able to remember in his . . . dream? Reality? Whichever it was, it had certainly felt real. A dim memory flickered, and then his mother's face appeared in his mind, soft brown hair falling to her shoulders as her eyes twinkled with happiness, a gleeful smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. Cameron shuddered and took in a deep breath as clear, sharp pain darted into his heart, and his vision flickered for a moment, changing from the floor of his room at the Hermitage to the bright fluorescent lights of a hospital. He shook his head as Aelita poked her head back into the room, "Do I need to get another glass of water? You don't look fully awake."_

_Cameron shook his head rapidly, holding up his hands dramatically as if to ward her off, "No, please, spare me that!" They shared a brief laugh before he stood, "I'll be down in a second, I was just, thinking about . . . things."_

_Aelita rolled her eyes, "riiiiiiggght," she feigned a coughing fit, "Taelia!" More coughing followed her as she hurried away before Cameron had time to nail her with his pillow._

()()()()

Cameron stirred slightly as the door opened, admitting Ulrich, looking grim. Taelia looked up from Cameron's peaceful face as the boy entered, shutting the door behind him, "Any news on Odd?"

Ulrich shook his head, "No, nothing's changed with him. How's Cameron?"

Taelia's face fell, "Nothing." She sighed, "I just wish there was something we could do."

Ulrich hesitated, then moved to crouch in front of her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "There might be something Jeremie and I can do, but it might turn out to be nothing. Call him if Cameron's condition changes, will you?"

Taelia's eyebrows went up, and she nodded, "Sure, no problem, but . . . what do you plan on doing?"

Ulrich stood and returned to the door, opening it and stepping partially outside before answering, "Sorry, can't tell you. Too risky. Just . . . trust us, please."

The door shut before Taelia could reply.

()()()()

_Cameron sat down at the breakfast table, a moment later, a plate of pancakes slid in front of him, complete with silverware and syrup. Franz smiled at him as he took his own seat, "Aelita tells me that you had a strange dream, but wouldn't share the details with her. Care to enlighten us? You know how I get when I know there's something I don't know."_

_Cameron laughed and took a bite of pancake before answering, "Well, it was really, really weird. First off, it started with my," Cameron hesitated, "the accident happening nine years early, and it went on from there. You two vanished off the face of the earth a year after I started staying here, and things, pretty much went on getting weirder from there."_

_Franz's eyebrows went up, "Fascinating. So, how were you doing in your dream? Any luck with girls? I'm sure Taelia would be glad to hear that you were dreaming of a girl other than her." _

_The three of them shared a laugh before Cameron answered, "Actually,, she was the only one in the dream as well. Well, come to think of it, Sissi was acting as per the usual, but that was it."_

_Aelita laughed, "So this dream kept right up with real life huh? Apart from, you know, us being gone. As if it were your life without us being there. Was the rest of the gang there? Jeremie, Odd, Ulrich, and Yumi? Or did only Taelia and Sissi carry over?"_

_Cameron shook his head, "No, they were all there. Odd's strangeness included." Aelita dug an ice cube out of her water with her spoon and reached over, dumping it down the back of his shirt before he could stop her. He frantically yanked the back of his shirt out, trying to make the freezing stop, "Hey! What was that for?"_

_Aelita innocently took a bite of pancakes, "Calling Odd weird. Again. You should have known that was coming."_

_Cameron blinked in confusion, "Oookaayy, lesson learned, have dad and I missed something between you two?"_

_Aelita blushed and muttered, "Oh shut up."_

_Cameron grinned and finished his pancakes, tactfully neglecting to mention Odd further._

()()()()

Taelia sighed as Cameron continued sleeping, a slight smile flickering across his features, then flipped her phone open and punched in a number, "Jeremie?"

The answer was quick, "Taelia? Has something happened with Cameron?"

Taelia sighed again, "No, I wanted to check in with you guys, Ulrich said that you were going to try something to fix what's happening, and I was curious about what that was?"

Jeremie hesitated, "Well . . . okay, I guess. There's not a whole lot of point keeping it from you, and I guess you deserve to know. Plus if it works, you won't give us a moment's rest about it until we spill the beans." He paused a moment, "Okay, I guess the easiest way is to start from the beginning, so here goes."

()()()()

_Cameron staggered as Taelia crashed into him, "Wow, miss me much? You'd think we hadn't talked all summer."_

_Taelia drew back, "Well, we've obviously been talking, but I haven't seen you all summer, and I guess it's just good to see you again is all."_

_Aelita laughed, "You're going to have to take it slow with him today Taelia, he's still waking up."_

_A familiar voice chimed in, "And you didn't splash him to wake him up? Surprising." A spike of blond hair appeared next to Aelita, and Cameron looked down slightly as Odd continued speaking, "Then again, maybe you're just losing your touch."_

_The boy made a show of examining his fingernails just before Aelita whacked him upside the head, and Cameron chuckled slightly, drawing both their attentions, "What?" He rolled his eyes, "You two . . . wow, just wow."_

_Aelita blushed faintly, "You're really out of it this morning aren't you Cameron? You know we're just friends."_

_Taelia giggled, "Just friends the same way that Ulrich and Yumi are just friends."_

"_Did I hear my name?" The four of them turned to see Yumi approaching, "Well, did someone say my name?"_

_Cameron whistled innocently, then, "Yeah. Taelia just said that Aelita and Odd are just friends in the same way that you and Ulrich are just friends. You know you're crazy about each other, but you don't do anyth- ow!" He stopped talking and rubbed his shoulder as Ulrich appeared and gave him a 'playful punch.'_

_Jeremie ran up, panting for breath, "I'm the last one here huh? Sorry, alarm didn't go off at the right time."_

_The group laughed and Cameron smiled, "Yeah, right. Did it go off at the wrong time, or were you up late programming again?"_

_Jeremie shrugged, "It's not against the law."_

"_It is if you fall asleep in Ms. Hertz's class."_

()()()()

Cameron stirred in his sleep again, and Taelia's head snapped up. She swiveled in her chair to look at the machine monitering his heart, only to see his heart rate drop below forty beats per minute. Her phone was at her ear almost without her thinking about it, and Jeremie picked up almost instantly, "What's taking so long? Can't you guys work any faster?"

Jeremie's reply was less than informative, "Sorry. We're doing what we can, and we're almost done. Just another few seconds, sorry, I have to go, one last thing to do. And then he'll be fine, I promise."

Taelia got one last thing out before he cut the connection, "Don't break that promise."

A moment passed, and then a wall of white washed over everything, followed by blackness.

()()()()

Cameron turned slightly in his chair as the music continued coming from the room across the hall, "Do you think that Odd will turn it down anytime soon? It's getting really late."

Jeremie glanced at the door for a moment, then returned to his robot, "I doubt it. It is Odd after all."

Cameron sighed, "Yeah yeah, still, even for him, this is harsh."

Jeremie shrugged and put his screwdriver down, suppressing a yawn, "Well, I'm gonna try to get some sleep. Don't stay up too late, for once I'd like to get a solid eight hours."  
Cameron laughed and closed his textbook, "If you're going to sleep it must be late." He reached over and switched the desk lamp off, "Well, since you're actually going to sleep, I'll follow your example. Best not to hit an exam when I can't keep my eyes open."

Jeremie yawned as he burrowed into his blankets, "Tell that to Odd."

**End of Chapter Twenty**

**Hey guys! Sorry if that chapter seemed shorter, I just didn't have the normal creative juices flowing while I was writing it. Normally I just sort of let loose and let my hands to all the work, but this time . . . I don't know, maybe my hands wanted my brain to do the writing for once. Plus my school starts in a week, which means that I have to get my AP Summer Assignment done, so that probably isn't helping. Anyway, thanks for sticking with me!**

**Keep Writing, keep rocking.**

**Undeadmonkey8 out . . . or am I? (Strokes chin mysteriously)**


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